7 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,F ebruary 18,2021 insidehalton.com WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER! At Denninger's, all our stores remain open to serve our customers and community For store hours or to view our e-flyer visit us at denningers.com DELIVERING A SAFE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE! BURLINGTON • HAMILTON • OAKVILLE • SHOP IN-STORE • CURBSIDE PICK-UP • DELIVERY Public Health since flu sea- son began last year, com- pared to 402 cases by the same timeframe in 2019/ 2020. The trio of recent cases were found in local adults aged 45 and older and were categorized as part of the influenza A strain, with no documented cases of influ- enza B. "Halton is seeing an un- precedented low number of influenza cases during the 2020-2021 respiratory virus season," said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, the region's med- ical officer of health. "This is consistent with other parts of the world and with Canada overall." So what's different this year? According to Meghani there were a few factors at play, including: · The high uptake of the flu vaccine this season · Changes related to the pandemic, including the impacts of public health measures like social dis- tancing, travel restric- tions, etc. · Changes in residents' healthcare-seeking beha- viours (may not seek test- ing/treatment for the flu) · Changes to influenza testing practices "As with other influenza seasons, the actual number of cases in the community is likely to be higher than the number reported, since an infected person with mild or no symptoms may not seek laboratory test- ing," she noted. Interest in receiving the flu vaccine is "significantly higher" this season, said pharmacist Baseer Yas- seen, who reported a 75 to 100 per cent increase in the number of shots adminis- tered at the three Shoppers Drug Mart locations he owns in Halton. "We pretty much dou- bled what we did in previ- ous years. Everyone want- ed to get a flu shot," he said, noting part of the increase can be attributed to his pharmacies' ability to ad- minister high-dose vac- cines for seniors this sea- son -- something that was previously only available at doctor's offices. "A lot of people were also worried that a flu outbreak would coincide with wave two of COVID." Yasseen said he thinks that health measures relat- ed to the pandemic, like wearing a mask, sanitizing surfaces and frequent hand washing, have also contributed to the unchar- acteristically low number of flu cases. Amy Aubin and her family are among the local residents who got the flu shot this year -- something she said they're sure to do every season. Even with the high vac- cine uptake, Aubin said she thinks some people are still coming down with the flu but are perhaps afraid to seek medical attention due to the pandemic. "I got the flu, but it was minor, so I stayed home," she said. "And since we are under a stay-at-home or- der, people aren't transmit- ting the flu in the same ways or as fast as it would usually be spread." According to Halton Public Health, 230,950 dos- es of the flu vaccine were released this season to Hal- ton pharmacies, physi- cians, long-term care facil- ities, retirement homes, correctional facilities and nursing agencies -- an in- crease of more than 59,000 doses compared to the 2019- 2020 season. For further details on influenza in Halton visit halton.ca. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With the number of reported flu cases notice- ably lower this season in Halton and beyond, we looked beyond the data to find out why there's been a downward trend. NEWS Continued from page 1 PHARMACIES SEE SPIKE IN FLU SHOT DEMAND Flu symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, cough, loss of appetite and runny nose. Karen Martin-Robbins/ Metroland