Public health is offering flu vaccination clinics in early November

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Mild flu seasons over the past two years could give way to an upward trend this winter, a Lambton public health spokesman says.

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“Based on what was seen in the southern hemisphere this past flu season,” Health Safety Commissioner Crystal Palleschi said, noting that cases in Ontario have also been increasing recently.

“Really, the flu shot is one of your best defenses against the flu, so we recommend everyone get it as soon as it’s available,” she said.

Bookings for forthcoming community clinics opened Monday, health unit officials said.

Eight public health clinics are scheduled for November 1-10, while the vaccines are also available through 36 public pharmacies and various health care providers, Palleschi said.

She also encouraged people to follow recommendations such as washing hands and staying home when sick to curb the spread of various viruses during the respiratory illness season.

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In the past flu season, there was only one laboratory-confirmed case of influenza in Lambton, while no deaths or outbreaks were recorded. There was only one confirmed case during the 2020/21 flu season.

These muted seasons are a marked departure from the 62 confirmed cases reported in 2019-20.

As for the reasons the past two seasons have been so mild, Palleschi said it may be related to reduced testing, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or the restrictions in place to keep people indoors, masked and away distanced from others.

Those restrictions are mostly gone, she said, “so I expect we’re going to see more cases than we’ve seen in the last two years.”

Intake of flu shots between public health, pharmacies and healthcare providers in Lambton last season was about 27,000, down slightly from about 32,500 last year.

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Public health officials, in a press release, noted that masks are still required in clinical settings and asked people not to come to vaccination appointments if they were sick.

Appointments can be booked at getthevaccine.ca while assistance with booking is available at 226-254-8222.

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Lambton Public Health Flu Vaccination Clinics

• Dawn-Euphemia Community Center: November 2, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m
• Lambton Public Health Office: 5 November, 10am to 4pm
• Point Edward Optimist Hall: 1, 8 & 15 November, 9am. until 4 p.m
• The Shores Recreation Center: November 9, 9:30am to 4:00pm
• Wyoming Fairgrounds: November 3 & 10, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m