In Canada, we have many reasons to love winter — but the return of flu season isn’t one of them. With the snow and cold temperatures comes that miserable virus that nearly one quarter of us will get every winter season, says Health Canada. Many people will wind up in bed for a week or more, but tens of thousands of people will wind up in a hospital bed due to complications like pneumonia.
Or worse… Together, influenza and pneumonia consistently rank #8 in the top 10 causes of death in this country, according to Statistics Canada. In 2008 (the latest year for which data is available), the two were responsible for nearly 5,400 deaths. The majority of those deaths occur in people over age 65 — a group at a higher risk for complications. Part of the problem is that our immune systems change as we get older, and older adults are more likely to be coping with a chronic condition like heart disease or diabetes.
It’s hardly surprising that experts recommend we take precautions to avoid the flu — like getting a flu shot, even if it isn’t 100 per cent effective. Some people do experience side effects or reactions, so it’s important to talk to your health care providers about the benefits versus any potential risks.
However, not all flu shots are alike: This year, there’s a new vaccine available in Canada for people over age 65. To find out more about this option, we talked Dr. Jay Keystone, Director of the Medisys Travel Health and Immunization Clinic in Toronto and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Some recent reports show that the flu vaccine isn’t always effective for everyone. Why do people who get the flu vaccine still get sick — and why does the vaccine seem to be less effective in older adults?
Seniors and children are the hardest hit during the flu season. Young children do not yet have fully developed immune systems and therefore are more susceptible to the flu and its serious complications. On the other hand, as seniors age, their immune systems decline, making them more susceptible to the flu and the additional health risks associated with getting sick. For seniors, their ability to mount an effective immune response against infection gradually wanes with age. Although older adults may still get influenza in spite of receiving the vaccine, studies have shown that the illness will be less severe and not likely to be fatal. Flu vaccines are the best protection for avoiding the seasonal influenza. For seniors, a new vaccine, Fluad®, approved earlier in the year by Health Canada, could provide an enhanced immune response to help provide better protection.
