Fewer Calgarians getting the flu shot so far this year
The number of people getting immunized is down in this city and right across the province so far this year — something health officials hope turns around quickly as flu season ramps up.
"We've been lucky so far and it is coming. It takes two weeks once you've been vaccinated to be fully protected from influenza, so if you haven't done it, now's a great time," said Judy MacDonald, the medical officer of health for Calgary.
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As of last week, more than 334,000 doses of the vaccine have been given out in the Calgary area, with some doses yet to be reported.
That's down from well over 400,000 last year at this time, but MacDonald says it's difficult to compare year over year.
"It may seem that it's a little lower. We did start a little bit later this year, in terms of all the different providers, and we don't have full numbers at this point," she said.
She also pointed out that this time last year "we were really into influenza heavily" with outbreaks across the province.
The vaccine is different every year to intercept what health officials believe will be the dominant strain. MacDonald said it's too early to tell if they've got it right this year and the earliest doctors will know is after Christmas.
