Kelowna pharmacies encourage flu shot ahead of winter season

With temperatures dropping and winter right around the corner, pharmacies across B.C. are now booking appointments for people to have their flu shot and COVID vaccination.

Appointments at the Pharmasave on Gordon Drive are already coming in, with a number of customers in the store waiting to see the nurse last week.

“So far the uptick for the COVID shot and also for the flu shot is pretty good. We did a maximum number of 81,000 shots on the very first day, which is a record we broke in a pharmacy,” said Pharmasave pharmacist Bijal Goswami.

“And people, they are booking the vaccine right now, the COVID and the flu, so I would say the uptick is pretty good compared to the last year or previous few years.”

As the number of flu shots continues to rise for people in B.C., Goswami tells Castanet fewer people are keeping up with their COVID vaccine, especially younger adults.

Goswami says roughly 45 or 50 per cent of people did receive the vaccine.

"We need to have more encouragement for those younger people with a chronic condition to come forward, get the vaccination even if they are young — both the vaccines, flu and COVID," he said.

“COVID is still there, it’s not gone. It’s still hanging around like a flu vaccine, so it’s important to get the vaccination. The only thing is COVID doesn’t go down in summer. It doesn’t get affected by the cold, so we have to keep going like every six months.”

With flu season running from November to April, pharmacies across B.C. are encouraging people to book their flu shot and COVID vaccine sooner rather than later.

“It’s a good idea to get your shot done right now so you can get ready for the winter season before we get to the holiday. If you are ready for vaccination, it’s going to be avoiding too much pressure on our health care system,” said Goswami.

“So basically, we are going to have the emergency room available for other people who have some similar condition, rather than having the complication by the flu or by COVID, which can be prevented by the vaccine earlier, so vaccination is really important before we hit the holiday season.”

Many people have no side effects from influenza vaccines, however, if a person does experience side effects, they are usually mild and go away on their own within a few days.

Serious side effects, like a severe allergic reaction, are very rare.

To book your flu shot and COVID vaccine, people can call their local pharmacy or book online.