Don't go viral. Get your flu shot.

“This is one of those times when ‘going viral’ is not cool,” says Fraser Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Aamir Bharmal. “Instead, help protect vulnerable members of our communities including infants, young children, pregnant women, and people with underlying health conditions, by getting your flu shot.”

“This flu season, consider seeking immunization for yourself, your family and your loved ones,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix. “It’s a small and easy step to take to prevent and protect yourself and your community from the potentially life-altering effects of influenza. This season, be proactive about your health and have a flu shot.” 

Flu shots are recommended for everyone six months of age and older and are available free of cost in B.C. for all children between six months and five years old, seniors 65 years old and older, pregnant women, Indigenous people and individuals with chronic health conditions or compromised immune systems. People who work or live with people who have a higher risk of complications from the flu, and visitors to health care facilities are also eligible for a free vaccine. The intranasal flu vaccine, FluMist, is not available for use in Canada this season. All influenza vaccines available this season will be given by injection.

“For healthy people, having the flu means a few days of feeling miserable, but for young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, it can lead to a severe illness involving a hospital stay, or even death,” says VCH Medical Health Officer Dr. Meena Dawar. “The flu shot is the best way to not only protect yourself, but also the higher-risk people around you.”

All B.C. health authorities require their staff, students, volunteers and physicians to get immunized or wear a mask while at work during the flu season. To further protect patients, unvaccinated visitors to all Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health facilities are asked to wear a mask, beginning December 1, 2019. Masks will be available at nursing stations and/or outpatient reception desks.

Flu shots are now available at your doctor’s office, walk-in clinics, public health-led flu clinics and Urgent Primary Care Centres. Anyone five years of age or older can be immunized at a pharmacy. To find a flu clinic near you, click here.

Influenza is a virus which causes infection of the upper airway, and can lead to symptoms of fever, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and cough. Complications from influenza, such as pneumonia, are more common in the very young, the elderly and those with heart, lung or other health conditions. Influenza is easily spread from person to person, and an infected person can spread the virus before they are even sick with symptoms.

For Fraser Health information about the flu, click here. For the media kit, click here.

For Vancouver Coastal Health information about the flu, visit www.vch.ca/flu.