As experts caution against a possible “twindemic” as flu season approaches, UBC is preparing its annual vaccine campaign.
But last year, the Thunderbird reported that UBC’s flu clinic was cut short due to a shortage of vaccines. The Public Health Agency of Canada is expecting a higher demand for influenza vaccines this year as fear of simultaneous influenza and COVID-19 infections rises.
“The vaccine ‘shortage’ last year was created because the vaccine producers were not able to supply UBC-V with enough vaccine in the time period where the students were available to participate in the immunization program,” said Bruce Anderson, director of occupational and research health and safety in a statement to The Ubyssey.
A recent survey, conducted by the Canadian Pharmacists Association has found that more Canadians are planning on getting the flu vaccine amid the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, 57 per cent of 1,912 Canadians said they would get the flu vaccine, up 12 percentage points from the 45 per cent of Canadians who received the flu shot last year.
“Getting a flu shot this year is more important than ever,” said Dr. Ran Goldman, professor at the UBC Faculty of Medicine and pediatrician at BC Children’s Hospital.
Although anyone can develop influenza with the vaccine, Goldman explained that the main purpose of administering vaccines is to prevent serious complications including pneumonia, admission to intensive care units and complications in the central nervous system.
“The reason is that we do not want to deal with a twindemic,” he said. “We have to capture the capacity of our health care system to the most needy patients. And if we have two pandemics at the same time, this could be horrible for that.”
In the past years, UBC Safety & Risk Services (SRS) has received the assistance of students from the School of Nursing and the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences to deliver UBC’s annual flu immunization campaign.
“UBC supports and promotes all students, faculty, and staff to receive annual immunization to protect against influenza,” said Director of Occupational & Research Health and Safety Bruce Anderson in a statement to The Ubyssey. While official plans for how vaccines will be administered at UBC have not been confirmed, Anderson said he hopes to have more information on the SRS website over the next couple of weeks.
“SRS is working with Vancouver Coastal Health, HR and Student Health Services to identify flu shot opportunities for the campus community this year. Faculty and staff working from home will be encouraged to visit their local pharmacy or family physician to get an immunization.”
With a potential new model for the campaign this year, students, faculty and staff won’t be restricted by the availability of student-led immunizers.
While Goldman believes that UBC has always been efficient in offering vaccines to those on campus, he hopes that UBC will continue to do this once the vaccines become available in the coming weeks.
He says that there are other ways UBC can work around the pandemic to administer flu shots.
“Despite COVID-19 and social distancing, there are other ways to provide vaccines. This could be in multiple small areas so there is no aggregation of people, could be a drive-by vaccine clinic,” he said.
“There are ways to mitigate the risks of influenza, while not accumulating more risks from COVID-19.”