Influenza vaccination rates in Canada down from recent years

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogach speaks about the impact of fewer people getting flu shots on Canada's health-care system.

Fewer Canadians received the influenza vaccination this year than in prior years, in a trend one infectious disease expert says increases health risks.

Isaac Bogoch, a physician and researcher at University Health Network in Toronto, told CTV News in an interview Thursday that immunization rates are down two to seven per cent this year compared to prior years, a drop that can impact Canada’s health-care system.

“Influenza is a serious illness,” he said. “It’s not just the sniffles or a little cough or a cold, it is a semi-predictable seasonal virus that we get in the wintertime in the northern hemisphere and every year it can kill up to about half a million people on the planet.”

While Bogoch says influenza vaccination in the country has historically been low, with uptake typically “in the 20 to 35 per cent range” for some population groups, this decrease reflects a significant number of Canadians missing the vaccine who normally would not.

“We know that the flu is a serious pathogen, and it could cause significant illness, especially in those who are most vulnerable,” he said.

Why are influenza’s vaccination rates down in Canada?

Bogoch cites vaccine hesitancy, accessibility and vaccine fatigue following the COVID-19 pandemic as likely factors in the decline.

“In terms of a medical and health response, we can certainly do more to communicate the importance of [vaccination] … lower barriers to [vaccination] and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to get an influenza vaccine when they roll out in the late fall,” Bogoch says.

Is this year’s strain more severe?

Canada is having a more severe influenza season, with increases in infections and hospitalizations across the country.

According to a report published last week, the spread of influenza is more prevalent in B.C.’s Vancouver Island, Vancouver Coastal, Fraser and Interior regions; Alberta’s South Zone; Ontario’s Central East and Toronto regions; Quebec’s Montreal et Laval, Ouest-du-Quebec, Centre-du-Quebec, Quebec et Chaudieres-Appalaches regions.

While RSV and COVID-19 infections drop, the latest data shows the influenza test positivity rate continues to rise and was at 27.7 per cent as of Feb. 22.

However, Bogoch says it is not uncommon that some influenza viruses may “pack more of a punch than other circulating seasonal influenza viruses,” as strains change from year to year.

While the decline of influenza vaccination among Canadians could be one reason as to why Canada is seeing a more serious Influenza season this year, Bogoch says it also has to do with the virus as well.

“We look at southern hemisphere, which is not a perfect metric of what we’re going to get in the northern hemisphere, but Australia for example had a pretty severe influenza season as well, and lo and behold, Canada and the United States and other countries in the northern hemisphere are also having a more severe influenza season,” says Bogoch.