First shots

This year’s flu shot is a two-for-one deal, with the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines combined into a single dose, a district health unit official said Monday.

More than a hundred area residents lined up to get their flu shots at the Italian Cultural Centre Monday morning. It was the first flu-shot clinic of the season for the city. The dose given by nurses from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit contained both the seasonal vaccination and a vaccine for the H1N1 virus.

Darlene Binette, manager of infectious diseases programs with the Health Unit, said by 11 a.m. that about 200 people had already lined up to get their vaccination. The clinic is scheduled to close its doors at 3:30 p.m., at which point the health unit expects to have vaccinated about 1,000.

Binette said each year the vaccination undergoes some changes, but this year would include protection from not only influenza type A and B but also H1N1. The H1N1 outbreak took place around April and didn’t coincide with the normal production of the seasonal flu shot in January, which forced the health unit to provide the two different shots, she said.

"H1N1 is still the predominant strain that is circulating," Binette said. "Hopefully we got all the bases covered. It’s important to get the flu shot because you want to make sure you’re healthy for the year and not to give it to anybody else."

Seniors aged 65-years and older are typically most at risk from the seasonal flu along with children between six months and four-years old. Health-care providers, emergency workers and anyone with a chronic illness are also placed in the high-risk category.

The district health unit will hold flu-shot clinics until Dec. 13.

Gary Thompson, 66, said his hour-long wait during Monday’s clinic was not as bad as he thought it would be, and was much better compared to previous years.

Thompson and his wife planned a trip to Texas next weekend and he wanted to make sure he got his seasonal flu shot taken care of before travelling.

"It’s suppose to help," Thompson said, adding that he gets the vaccination every year. "I think it’s helped me."

Debbie Rosenfeld, a register nurse with the health unit, said it is a busy time for the nurses. She added the amount of people who come to get vaccinated depends on two factors – media coverage and the flu’s impact within the community and abroad.

"We’ve had years where there were cases of death in children from the flu in the United States," Rosenfeld said."We had a lot of people coming because they wanted to protect their children. We give them their flu shot and send them on their way for a healthy year."