Flu FAQs
More of your flu questions answered…
Q: How effective is this season’s vaccine?
A: It is too early to know the effectiveness of this year’s flu vaccine here in the VCH region. There has been a lot of conversation about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine provided in Australia, which has already had its flu season. The overall protection the vaccine provided in Australia was 33%, 10% against the A/H3N2 strain, 50% protection against A/H1N1 and 57% against influenza B. Given the nature of viruses circulating, an almost equal mix of A and B, we can expect to derive fairly good protection from this season’s vaccine.
Q: What is the “stomach flu”?
A: Norovirus is also commonly seen in the winter months. It causes vomiting and watery diarrhea and is sometimes referred to as the ‘stomach flu’. Despite that name, the flu virus and norovirus are two different infections. People get norovirus by ingesting the virus either indirectly (i.e. by eating food that has been contaminated by an infected person), or directly (i.e. by shaking hands with an infected person and then touching their own food). Most people usually recover within 1-3 days and serious or long-term health effects are very uncommon. There is no specific treatment for norovirus.
Q: I haven’t received the flu shot yet. Can I still get it?
A: Yes! You can get the flu shot at your doctor’s office, walk-in clinics and pharmacies. Check Immunize BC’s site for locations. You may also request a special VCH clinic be held in your area. Please email fluprevention@vch.ca for this service.
Q: Do I need to report my vaccination or wearing a mask?
A: Yes! Everyone, whether you got a flu shot or are wearing a mask, must self-report online.
Staff & residents report here: www.influenzareporting.org
Physicians (including dentists, midwives, psychologists, podiatrists, denturists, nurse practitioners & fellows):https://medicalstaffhealth.vch.ca/
Jillian
Could you please explain the components of the 2017/2018 vaccine that we received by VCH.
Potential allergens: egg protein (ovalbumin), polysorbate 80, thimerosal (50 μg per 0.5 mL dose; 0.01% w/v).
Other components: potassium chloride, disodium hydrogen phosphate heptahydrate, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, α-tocopheryl hydrogen succinate, sodium deoxycholate, ethanol, formaldehyde, sucrose.
Which component is the actual virus?
Just as we check the ingredients in the food and hygiene products we purchase, it would be nice to know what is being injected into out bodies.
thank you
Tiffany Akins
Thanks, we’ve asked one of our experts to answer your question, initially though I believe your list is missing the active component.
Tiffany Akins
Here’s the details from Medical Health Officer Dr Meena Dawar:
The active ingredient in the vaccine that confers protection is called vaccine antigen. In this case, the vaccine antigens are surface proteins of the virus capsule. These have not been noted in your list above and (in 2017-2018 influenza vaccines for adults) are as follows:
– 15micrograms HA- A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus
– 15micrograms HA- A/HongKong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus
– 15micrograms HA- B/Brisbane/60/2018-like virus
The components you noted are ingredients that are used in the manufacturing process of the vaccine. Many of these are removed in the purification process but as minute quantities remain, they are documented on the product monograph. Two components are intentionally included to the final vaccine product: Polysorbate 80 is a stabilizer which prevents ‘clumping’ or aggregation of the capsular protein. This is also a common ingredient in many foods (such as ice cream). Thimerosal is a preservative added to multi-dose vaccine vials only in order to prevent bacterial contamination.