With all of the alarm about COVID-19, health officials are cautiously optimistic that this year’s flu season will be a different story.
Dr. Ran Goldman with UBC’s Faculty of Medicine says it might be more important than ever to get a flu shot to avoid a so-called “twindemic” that could come from a surge in cases of both COVID-19 and influenza.
The number of Canadians who tested positive for influenza during the first week of November last year was 711.
During the same week this year, only 17 have tested positive.
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The measures people are taking to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus — wearing masks, washing their hands and social distancing — appear to be lowering the number of cases of the seasonal flu.
Goldman warns against developing a false sense of security when it comes to influenza, though.
“We have to stay vigilant and do all those measures that we learned about and not be lax on protecting ourselves,” he said but added that those measures do not replace vaccines.
He said he is heartened by new research that showed that 30 per cent more parents said they would get their children flu shots this year compared to last year.
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“I am very encouraged to see so many more this interested in getting the vaccine against flu,” he said.