NUNAVUT
The territorial government is trying to convince Nunavummiut that a little shot in the arm is worth it to protect people, especially the young and elderly, from the flu.
Nurse Sarah MacRury, right, injects chief medical officer Maureen Baikie with the flu vaccine. The Government of Nunavut is advocating people get their flu shots. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
"It's important to get vaccinated because it protects people who get vaccinated from getting influenza, which can be quite a serious illness, especially in the elderly and the very young with chronic health conditions," said Maureen Baikie, chief medical officer of health for the territory, shortly after being vaccinated herself.
"There are people under six months and people immune-compromised who can't necessarily get the vaccine or it doesn't work as well, so by getting immunized yourself you're also protecting those around you."
The vaccine is available by two methods and both are free to receive - injection or nasal spray.
The nasal spray is designed for people ages two through 17, while the injectable version is for people 18 and up and also for toddlers age six months to 23 months.
Baikie said the nasal spray works best in two- to five-year-olds, and it's also used as a less-scary entry point for youth than needles.
The vaccine in the needle version contains an inactive virus, while the nasal spray contains a "live attenuated virus."
"It's not one that would cause regular flu in people," said Baikie. "People who have the spray might get a bit of a runny nose, etc."
Last year's vaccine was widely reported as not being very efficient in protecting people. Baikie explained that this was because the actual strain of influenza that became predominant was not the one the vaccine addressed.
"The issue last year was that the predominate strain was H3N2, which the vaccine was not a good match for," said Baikie. "This year it's too early to tell. We haven't had any influenza in Nunavut."
Skepticism abounds around the flu vaccine, which is often criticized as giving people the flu or flu-like symptoms and not adequately protecting them.
"There are many different kinds of respiratory viruses circulating in the fall," said Baikie. "Here in Iqaluit right now there are a lot of people with colds, runny noses - those aren't influenza, so often what happens is people get their flu vaccine and then they get sick and they believe it's influenza but it's more than likely one of the other circulating viruses."
According to Statistics Canada, influenza was related to 591 deaths in the country last year.
Baikie said Nunavut doesn't have firm statistics on vaccine uptake in the territory, but estimated it to be 15 to 20 per cent in the last few years.
In addition to getting vaccinated, Baikie encourages people to wash their hands, stay home when sick and cough into their elbow to avoid spreading germs.
