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Provincial health authorities have announced a walk-in blitz for children’s flu vaccines in the next week.
On the North Shore, families whose kids haven’t yet received a flu vaccine are being encouraged to walk in to the clinic at the former ICBC site on Lloyd Avenue in North Vancouver. The clinic is open to 6:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 and from 9:30 to 6:15 p.m. on Saturday. It will be open again next week for flu vaccine walk-ins from Dec. 13 to 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m.
For children with an aversion to needles, the flu vaccine is also available at the clinic as a nasal spray.
Health authorities are hoping families will get kids vaccinated ahead of the holiday season.
Surge in kids' flu cases
B.C. is in the midst of a surge in influenza cases with a strain of the virus that is hitting children particularly hard.
Emergency departments have recently seen a dramatic uptick in children coming to hospital with flu symptoms.
“This is an unusual season with unusual characteristics, including an early and intense surge in cases,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer.
Among children tested in laboratories in Vancouver, including B.C. Children’s Hospital, Richmond, and the North Shore, test positivity for influenza A has remained stable, but high, at 37 per cent recently.
Currently, influenza A/H3 is the predominant strain circulating, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Six children have died of flu
On Thursday, Henry reported that six children and teens have died of flu in B.C. this season.
The children who died included one who was younger than five years old, three who were between five and nine, and two teens between 15 and 19.
“Early findings indicate some of the children experienced secondary bacterial infections contributing to severe illness, which can be a complication of influenza,” said Henry.
While most kids recover from the flu at home, Henry said parents of kids at risk for severe complications should talk to a doctor about early access to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, which is most effective if started within 12 hours and ideally not later than 48 hours after the onset of symptoms.
When to seek medical help
“Parents of all children should seek care if your child experiences difficulty breathing, or if your child’s fever goes away and comes back or persists longer than five days,” she said. “This may indicate a possible bacterial infection.”
Lions Gate Hospital is among those seeing a surge in kids with respiratory illness.
In a recent a two-day period, Nov. 23 to Nov. 25, 21 kids were brought to the North Vancouver ER with respiratory illness. One of those children was subsequently admitted to hospital, according to VCH.
During that same time period, the North Shore Urgent and Primary Care Centre averaged nine visits a day from kids under 19 for respiratory-related reasons.
All children over the age of six months are eligible for influenza vaccination, and flu shots are being given free at COVID-19 clinics and at pharmacies, but rates of vaccination among kids have remained low.
Children's influenza vax rates low
Across B.C. only about 15 per cent of kids and teens have received the flu vaccine this fall.
Those vaccination numbers are slightly better on the North Shore.
According to the Ministry of Health, 16 per cent of kids aged six months to four years old have received flu vaccine in West Vancouver, while 22 per cent have received the jab in North Vancouver. Among children and teens aged five to 17, those flu vaccination rates are 20 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
COVID-19 infections slowly increasing
The flu surge comes as the Lower Mainland is also seeing a slow increase in cases of COVID-19.
According to the BCCDC, wastewater tests from all five Metro Vancouver sewage plants, including the North Shore’s Lions Gate treatment plant, “suggest a slow increase in levels of SARS-CoV-2 detection.”
Vancouver Coastal Health reported 91 people in hospital with COVID-19 in the past week, four of those in critical condition.
Rates of COVID-19 vaccination among children on the North Shore also continue to be much lower than the rates of vaccination for older adults.
