Seasonal flu shots available at H1N1 vaccination clinics starting Saturday

Seasonal flu shots will be available for Toronto residents at the city’s H1N1 clinics starting Saturday, Dec. 5.

All eight clinics will operate daily until Sunday, Dec. 13 and will offer both vaccines.

According to Toronto Public Health, people who have not yet gotten sick with swine flu or seasonal flu are not off the hook.

“Unless you actually ended up having a laboratory confirmation. You cannot say for sure that you had and you still may very well be susceptible and should get vaccinated,” Dr. Baraba Yaffe said.

Health officials have insisted it is safe to get both shots at the same time and Dr. Yaffe explained
“although we still have high H1N1 activity in Toronto – we do know that as this strain, there’s a chance that other strains of influenza may begin to circulate.”

Dr. Yaffe added a large portion of the city’s population have received the H1N1 shot and the focus has shifted to seasonal flu. The flu season is expected to last until April or May.

Toronto Public Health officials said by the time the clinics close, they will have vaccinated more than 200,000 people directly and distributed more than one-million doses of vaccine to physicians, hospitals and other health care providers.

A limited number of clinics will be open January so young children can get a second dose of the H1N1 vaccine.

Thirty-six people from Toronto remain in hospital with H1N1.

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