Health
Islanders urged to get seasonal flu shot – My Cowichan Valley Now
sland Health says it’s time to take your shot to protect yourself, and everyone around you from the flu.
The health authority says everyone six months and older should get immunized against influenza.
“Getting immunized is the best way to keep us, our loved ones, our close contacts and our communities healthy. We encourage everyone to do their part to protect people against influenza, which can have tragic outcomes at all ages,” says Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer.
“We also need to protect those most at risk – including the very young who can’t be immunized (under 6 months of age) – and those with weakened immune systems.”
This year’s flu shot is free for everyone in B.C. aged six months and older.
Those at increased risk from severe influenza and serious influenza-related complications include seniors 65 years and older, children under five years old, Indigenous people, and people with chronic health conditions.
Island Health says COVID and flu vaccines are very different from each other.
It says that if you have had or are getting a COVID-19 vaccine, you don’t need to delay getting one for influenza.
COVID-19 vaccines can be safely given at the same time or any time before or after any other live or inactivated vaccine, including the influenza vaccine.
Respiratory illnesses such as influenza and COVID-19 can also result in increased emergency room (ER) visits.
Island Health says getting both the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines will not only help reduce the potential of attending the ER due to symptoms of respiratory illness, “but will also help ensure Island Health’s dedicated ER physicians, nurses and clinical staff can continue to meet the care needs of patients experiencing emergencies.”
Children aged six months to five years, and their families, can get the influenza shot at a public health clinic.
Visit islandfluclinics.ca to find an influenza clinic near you, and call your local public health unit to book appointments.
Other eligible people can get the flu shot from their local pharmacist or physician.
Visit immunizebc.ca/clinics/flu/or call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 for locations.
- Physicians can immunize all ages
- Those aged 5 years and up can receive the influenza vaccine at their pharmacist
- Those aged 2-17 years can also receive FluMist® from their pharmacist. Call your provider to confirm availability
You’re asked to wear a face mask during your appointment, along with a short-sleeved shirt – and to bring your BC Services Card (or other government ID such as a driver’s licence).
On top of keeping up to date with vaccination, Island Health asks that you continue to wash your hands frequently, stay home when sick, maintain a safe physical distance, and wear a non-medical face covering to reduce respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.
Island Health says it’s time to take your shot to protect yourself, and your community from the flu.
The health authority says everyone six months and older should get immunized against influenza.
“Getting immunized is the best way to keep us, our loved ones, our close contacts and our communities healthy. We encourage everyone to do their part to protect people against influenza, which can have tragic outcomes at all ages,” says Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer.
“We also need to protect those most at risk – including the very young who can’t be immunized (under 6 months of age) – and those with weakened immune systems.”
This year’s flu shot is free for everyone in B.C. aged six months and older.
Those at increased risk from severe influenza and serious influenza-related complications include those 65 years and older, children under five years old, Indigenous people, and people with chronic health conditions.
Island Health says COVID and flu vaccines are very different from each other.
It says that if you have had or are getting a COVID-19 vaccine, you don’t need to delay getting one for influenza.
COVID-19 vaccines can be safely given at the same time or any time before or after any other live or inactivated vaccine, including the influenza vaccine.
Respiratory illnesses such as influenza and COVID-19 can also result in increased emergency room (ER) visits.
Island Health says getting both the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines will not only help reduce the potential of attending the ER due to symptoms of respiratory illness, “but will also help ensure Island Health’s dedicated ER physicians, nurses and clinical staff can continue to meet the care needs of patients experiencing emergencies.”
Children aged six months to five years, and their families, can get the influenza shot at a public health clinic.
Visit islandfluclinics.ca to find an influenza clinic near you, and call your local public health unit to book appointments.
Other eligible people can get the flu shot from their local pharmacist or physician.
Visit immunizebc.ca/clinics/flu/or call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 for locations.
- Physicians can immunize all ages
- Those aged 5 years and up can receive the influenza vaccine at their pharmacist
- Those aged 2-17 years can also receive FluMist® from their pharmacist. Call your provider to confirm availability
You’re asked to wear a face mask during your appointment, along with a short-sleeved shirt – and to bring your BC Services Card (or other government ID such as a driver’s licence).
On top of keeping up to date with vaccination, Island Health asks that you continue to wash your hands frequently, stay home when sick, maintain a safe physical distance, and wear a non-medical face covering to reduce respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s top doctor is warning people to stay up to date on whooping cough vaccinations after a small increase in cases this year.
The province usually sees three to four cases of the disease annually. Up to 10 cases have been reported already since January, however, prompting the province’s chief medical officer to raise the issue publicly.
The increase “generally means there’s a little bit more circulating in the community than what’s presenting for care and testing,” Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said Tuesday.
While officials aren’t overly concerned about a future spike in cases, Fitzgerald said, higher infection rates place infants in particular at risk.
Children under the age of one aren’t yet old enough for the whooping cough vaccine and don’t have immunity to the disease, Fitzgerald said. Infections in small children can be more severe and lead to pneumonia, neurological issues and hospitalization.
Fitzgerald said parents, grandparents and caregivers should check to ensure their vaccinations are up to date.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, causes a persistent nagging cough that’s sometimes severe enough to cause vomiting. Vaccines for the disease are offered in early childhood, during high school and in adulthood. Booster shots should be given 10 years after the high school dose, Fitzgerald said.
“Immunity can wane over time,” she said. “Pertussis does circulate on a regular basis in our community.”
The small increase in cases isn’t yet ringing alarm bells for undervaccination within the general population, she added, noting the province still has a vaccination rate over 90 per cent.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) said the opioid drug crisis has reached such a critical level that a public safety response is urgently required and that includes the need for expanded supervised consumption sites.
The report was published by the medical journal Monday and was authored by Shaleesa Ledlie, David N. Juurlink, Mina Tadrous, Muhammad Mamdani, J. Michael Paterson and Tara Gomes; physicians and scientists associated with the University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Research Institute and the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital.
“The drug toxicity crisis continues to accelerate across Canada, with rapid increases in opioid-related harms following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors wrote. “We sought to describe trends in the burden of opioid-related deaths across Canada throughout the pandemic, comparing these trends by province or territory, age and sex.”
The study determined that across Canada, the burden of premature opioid-related deaths doubled between 2019 and 2021, representing more than one-quarter of deaths among younger adults. The disproportionate loss of life in this demographic group highlights the critical need for targeted prevention efforts, said the study.
The researchers found that the death rate increased significantly as fentanyl was introduced to the mix of street drugs that individuals were using, in some cases, unknowingly.
The authors said this demonstrates the need for consumption sites, not only as overwatch as people with addictions consume their drugs, but also to make an effort to identify the substances and inform those people beforehand.
“The increased detection of fentanyl in opioid-related deaths in Canada highlights the need for expansion of harm-reduction programs, including improved access to drug-checking services, supervised consumption sites, and treatment for substance use disorders,” the authors wrote.
The study said a more intense public safety response is needed.
“Given the rapidly evolving nature of the drug toxicity crisis, a public safety response is urgently required and may include continued funding of safer opioid supply programs that were expanded beginning in March 2020, improved flexibility in take-home doses of opioid agonist treatment, and enhanced training for health care workers, harm reduction workers, and people who use drugs on appropriate responses to opioid toxicities involving polysubstance use.
In conclusion, the authors wrote that during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the burden of premature death from accidental opioid toxicities in Canada dramatically increased, especially in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
“In 2021, more than 70 per cent of opioid-related deaths occurred among males and about 30 per cent occurred among people aged 30–39 years, representing one in every four deaths in this age group. The disproportionate rates of opioid-related deaths observed in these demographic groups highlight the critical need for the expansion of targeted harm reduction–based policies and programs across Canada,” said the study.
The full text of the report can be found online here.
A business plan for a new BC Cancer Centre at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital has been approved by the province.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says the state-of-the-art cancer facility will benefit patients in Nanaimo and the surrounding region through the latest medical technology.
The facility will have 12 exam rooms, four consultation rooms and space for medical physicists and radiation therapists, medical imaging and radiation treatment of cancer patients.
The procurement process is underway, and construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be complete in 2028.
Upgrades to NRGH have also been approved, such as a new single-storey addition to the ambulatory care building and expanded pharmacy.
Dix says Nanaimo’s population is growing rapidly and aging, and stronger health services in the region, so people get the health care they need closer to home.
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