Flu season is approaching, and after years of the pandemic, where flu was somewhat absent as a result of lockdowns and travel restrictions, flu is now expected to be more common this year than it has been in years.
“The first Omicron wave put an end to the flu. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a severe flu season, so it’s likely that more people are now susceptible and there could be more spread of infection depending on the type of flu that’s coming in,” says Anna-Sarah Carnahan, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency.
The flu is known to be surprising.
In total, there are four different types of influenza and according to an epidemiologist, influenza season usually consists of a mixture of two or three different viruses.
However, there is a lot that is unknown and the flu is known to surprise, says Carnahan.
If you do get the flu, it can be anything from asymptomatic to severely ill. So the public health agency is urging people to stay home if they develop symptoms so they don’t risk spreading the flu further.
The classic flu is that you get sick suddenly and quickly develop a fever, lie down and shiver, and may develop respiratory symptoms such as a cough. But you don’t have to have a fever and feel really sick, you can have milder symptoms too.
During the pandemic, we have learned about precautions regarding the spread of infection, something that an epidemiologist believes can be positive when it comes to the spread of influenza, but other factors are believed to increase the spread of infection instead.
“Of course we’ve learned and that can help reduce the spread of infection, but on the other hand, it’s been a while since we started flu season, so there are some conflicting forces,” she says.
“Other countries have experienced influenza epidemics”
She thinks it’s important to know that influenza may begin to spread to the extent that the virus does before the outbreak of the pandemic.
It is good that people realize that the flu may return this year, and some may have heard that the flu is gone. In other countries, influenza epidemics have been seen in the past year and influenza has returned globally and is spreading further as usual.
This year’s flu vaccination begins on November 8th.
People in high-risk groups are advised to be vaccinated, and the vaccine is free for this group in all regions. The risk group includes people over 65, pregnant women, and people with certain chronic conditions or diseases such as heart disease, severe asthma or carbon dioxide.
If you are not in the risk group, you have to wait until December to receive the vaccination.
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