1. Flu vaccine is free for anyone, six months of age and older, who live, work or attend school in Ontario.
The Flu and You
October 2019

2. Are you Ready for the Flu Season?
Cooler temperature means, it is time to:
Winterize
Accessorize
and Immunize

3. How Flu Germs Spread Small Droplets Direct Contact Indirect Contact
The virus is spread by droplets when talking, sneezing or coughing. The infection can spread before symptoms appear.
Flu viruses can live on surfaces for hours, so touching infected door knobs, shared toys and keyboards can also spread infection.

4. Flu is worse than a cold Unlike a cold, flu has sudden onset of:
fever, aches and chills…
headache, cough,
sneezing, runny nose,
watery eyes, sore throat,
feeling weak and tired…
A cold usually doesn’t have symptoms of fever, aches, chills, headache or fatigue.
Flu is different from a cold. Flu usually comes on suddenly. People with flu may have the following symptoms:
Fever (feeling chills and muscle aches); headache, cough, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and sore throat. Some people may have nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
Cold usually have gradual onset. It is uncommon to have fever, aches, chills, headache or fatigue with a cold.

5. Some people can get very sick from flu
Flu infection can worsen pre-existing conditions like diabetes and asthma.
Can be more severe in pregnancy.
Older adults are at greater risk for complications:
sinus and ear infections
pneumonia
inflammation of the heart, brain or muscles
In Canada, approximately12,200 people need hospital care and 3,500 people die from flu related illness each year.
Flu illness can worsen existing medical and health conditions like diabetes, asthma, heart disease.

6. Get Your Flu Shot Early – oct/nov
Flu vaccination is the easiest way to protect you and your family.
How well the vaccine works, depends on how well the vaccine strains match what is circulating. The vaccine can provide some cross protection even when the match is not exact.
Talk to your health care provider.

7. Can Not Catch Flu from the Vaccine
Some people think the flu vaccine made them sick.
The flu vaccine is made from an inactivated (dead) virus. You cannot catch the flu from the flu vaccine.

8. 4 Reasons You May Be Sick
It takes two weeks after the flu shot for your immune system to build up protection
You can still pick up a non-flu virus before or after you get the flu shot
There are other flu strains circulating
Some people mistake the side effects of the vaccine for the flu

9. High Dose Flu Vaccine for 65+
High-dose flu vaccine is the preferred choice for adults, ages 65 and older.
The vaccine is free and is available at doctor’s office, walk-in clinics and community health centres.
Preferred vaccine for 65 years and older: High dose flu vaccine provides superior protection and better vaccine efficacy, compared to the standard dose flu vaccine. Given that seniors have a higher burden of influenza A disease, Toronto Public Health recommends use of high dose flu vaccine for adults 65 years and older.
Note: The high-dose flu vaccine has more localized reactions – redness, swelling, pain, fever, headache, malaise lasting up to 3 days, but are generally mild and short lived.
Science behind the recommendation:
The immune response, efficacy and effectiveness is better with HD-TIV compared to standard-dose TIV. HD-TIV contains four times more antigen for the three strains than the QIV the vaccine. Clinical trial showed HD-TIV is 24% more effective compared to standard dose TIV.

10. Practice Good Health Habits
Good habits can reduce the spread of germs:
wash your hands often
clean and disinfect touched surfaces
eat well
stay active
manage your stress
stay home, if you are sick

11. Free flu Vaccination Clinics
Flu vaccination is free at doctor’s office, walk-in clinics, pharmacies and community health centres. Toronto Public Health has 4 clinics:
2019 Clinic Dates and Time
Location
Friday, November 8
1 to 6 p.m.
Toronto Reference Library 789 Yonge Street
Saturday, November 9
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Centrepoint Mall 6464 Yonge Street
Wednesday, November 13
2:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Etobicoke Civic Centre 399 The West Mall
Friday, November 15
East York Town Centre 45 Overlea Boulevard
Toronto Public Health is also offering four flu vaccination clinics.

12. For adults 65+ Talk to your doctor about other vaccines you may need:
Pneumococcal vaccines
Shingles vaccine
Tetanus vaccine

13. Vaccines are not just for kids
Adults need vaccines to boost immunity against serious diseases.
Visit us at toronto.ca/immunization or toronto.ca/flu for more information

14. Thank you….