They were lined up at the door dozens deep when staff from Northern Heath arrived for the flu clinic Sunday morning at the 11th annual Healthier You Expo at the College of New Caledonia.
Patricia Covington was there to get her flu shot for the first time in three years. She needed no convincing that they work and prevent her from getting sick.
"I haven't had a flu shot in a couple of years and I decided I needed to get back going on that," said the 64-year-old Covington. "We read about in the paper to come to this and my husband came earlier this morning. All the years when I was getting them regularly I was very rarely sick. I hardly ever got colds."
The flu clinic opened at 10 a.m. and by the time it closed at 4 p.m. close to 500 patients had received their influenza immunizations.
Melanie Martin, team lead for the public health clinic, said Northern Health has been offering the free flu shots for several years at the Healthier You Expo, giving people a chance to get their shots before the clinics been offering them at the Northern Interior Health Unit (1444 Edmonton St.) starting on Nov. 3.
It's recommended that seniors, people with chronic respiratory conditions, and children who are at least six months old), who are more likely to come into contact with the flu virus, should be immunized.
"It's suggested you get it to protect yourself and others around you who might not be able to get it," said Martin. "People who are in household contact with somebody who is at risk, if they have an elderly family member or young children in the home or if they go to school with people with chronic health conditions meet the criteria. It will ensure your body recognizes it if you do come into contact with it and fight it off a lot quicker."
The flu shot contains killed influenza viruses of three different strains, as determined by Health Canada, based on what was most commonly circulating in years past and what is predicted for this year.
Allergic reactions to flu shots are rare and staff are on hand to watch for them. Patients are asked to wait 15 after they receive their needles before they leave and nurses are ready to treat anaphylactic cases with epinephrine.
"Generally it's very well-tolerated," said Martin. "They might have a sore arm for a day or so and people might get a bit of an unwell feeling. The risks and reactions are very uncommon.
Martin said one of the most common misconceptions about flu shots is they will make people sick to their stomach.
"It's a very different thing, influenza is a respiratory illness, it's something that cause people to have a fever, body aches, chills, and be very unwell in the chest," Martin said. "It's not stomach flu at all."
Pharmacists and family doctors are also offering flu shots to patients.
For more information go to the website ImmunizeBC.ca.
