Public heath officials are expecting increased cases of flu this winter compared to other years.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ethan Toumishey tells Quinte News that members of the public should get their booster shots this fall.
Toumishey says, “People should stay up to date on those boosters. They can go to our website for further information on clinics … access through other points in our community, pharmacies, or health care providers as well.”
Regarding the flu, he said, “We’re getting to that time. We’ve seen the rollout of the vaccine for broad community access happening later in October, November.”
“We’re currently working with our long term care, retirement homes, high-risk partners for that rollout. But this will be very important as we are expecting that we’ll see a higher level of influenza activity in addition to COVID-19 than we have seen.”
Dr. Toumishey says there have been low flu seasons the past few years, partly due to restrictions that are no longer in place, so he expects to see what he calls “the former normal season of influenza.”
