The flu may already be impacting your household or office.
The flu season of 2017 is being called “severe” with twice as many cases reported as the previous year.
Saint John Pharmacist Greg McIntyre says a lot of people can be impacted by influenza
“Certainly seniors, children between the ages of 6 months to 59 months, anyone with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women,” says McIntyre.
He says they attribute the higher number of hospital visits for the flu last year because of a lack of immunization.
McIntyre says according to Health Canada, more than 2 million Canadians get the flu every year and 55,000 of them to see their doctor.
“About 12,000 of them or a little over do get hospitalized in an average year, and 3,500 will die, stated McIntyre”.
Health Canada’s goal is to have 80 percent of the population get the flu shot to avoid needless illness or even deaths.
