- pregnant women
- people over age 65;
- babies age 6 to 23 months
- adults and children with chronic heart and lung problems, and other chronic diseases;
- anyone living in the same household as people over 65 or people with chronic illnesses;
- all health-care workers and students in health-care educational programs;
- police officers and firefighters.
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Do you need a flu vaccination?
Most people think of the flu as a mild illness and an inconvenience of winter. They don’t realize that every year between 500 and 1500 Canadians, mostly seniors, will die from pneumonia and other complications of the flu. Because you can be infected with the flu virus and not have symptoms, you are also at greater risk of passing the illness on to others. When you get a flu shot, you protect not only your own health, but the health of the people around you. Who is eligible for the free vaccine? Once again, the Department of Health Promotion and Protection is providing free vaccine at doctors' offices and community clinics for people who have a higher risk of getting severely ill, or even dying, from influenza. These high-risk groups include: The flu is caused by influenza A and B viruses and occurs in Canada every year, usually during the late fall and winter months. The usual symptoms of the flu are sudden onset of fever, chills, cough, sore throat, sore muscles and joints, headache and tiredness. It is often confused with the "stomach flu", a stomach virus that usually causes vomiting and diarrhea, but that can't be prevented through immunization. How serious is the flu? Influenza can cause severe illness and even death, especially in people over age 65
and those with chronic illness. The best way to prevent the flu and its complications
is the flu vaccine. Is there anyone who should not receive the vaccine? The only people who should not receive a flu vaccine are people who have severe or
anaphylactic allergies to eggs or who have had a severe allergic reaction to a
previous dose of influenza vaccine. Can flu vaccine cause Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS)? | ||||||
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