While the next flu pandemic is on the radar of public health officials, Canada is still struggling to control the spread of seasonal flu, but needle-less vaccines could offer Canadians protection against influenza, a vaccine and infectious disease specialist says.
Dr. Andrew Potter, CEO and director of the Vaccine and infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, told CTV's Canada AM that despite efforts to increase influenza vaccination rates, the flu shot uptake is still low.
Part of the problem, he said, is that the general public still underestimates the impact of the flu.
"The public looks at flu as being 'just the flu' 鈥� it's something we expect every year," he said. "And yet, in fact, it's one of the top 10 killers in the country and indeed around the world," he said.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, up to 3,500 Canadians die from influenza and its complications each year, depending on the season. Children, adults over the age of 65 and patients with chronic health conditions are more at risk for flu complications. Getting a flu shot annually is one way of preventing the spread of the flu, the agency says.
And while the push to expand flu shot programs across the country by offering it in drug stores is laudable, more needs to be done, Potter said.
"I think it's a great step," he said. "But I think all one needs to do is to look at when H1N1 flu hit 鈥� swine flu 鈥� the uptake of the vaccine, for something we thought at the time could kill a large number of people, was actually very, very low."
In terms of seasonal flu, vaccination uptake rates range from 20 to 40 per cent depending on the province, Potter said. "And that is not really good for something we know we're going to face every year and could in fact kill us."
He said more Canadians might get a flu vaccine if the process was made easier and more pleasant. This could include alternative vaccine delivery methods, including internasal spray and patches that are applied to the patient's arm.
"These technologies are widely available," he said, adding that more investment needs to be dedicated toward developing these delivery technologies, as well as the research behind them.
"Infectious disease worldwide accounts for up to 40 per cent of the deaths on the planet each year," he said.
"This is not something that has gone away鈥� they are very much with us and they are with us not only in developing countries, but as well as in countries like Canada, and we need to be prepared."
