Thousands rush to get flu shot after 2 children died in Guelph

Thousands of people in the Guelph area have rushed to flu clinics to get their flu shotafter two children died from the flu last week.

Chuck Ferguson, a spokesman forWellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health told CBC News there has "definitely been a spike" in visits to get a flu shot since officials confirmed two children died from flu-related illnesses on Friday, Feb. 9.

WDGPH announced it would have extended flu shot clinics, where people could go for a flu shot, as a result of the fear and anxiety over the flu that was sparked by the deaths.

"Since we started the first clinic last Friday we've seen almost 3,000 people," he told CBCNews, adding that the extended clinics were "definitely well used and that is particularly in the Guelph area."

Ferguson said the spike in flu shot numbers is easily attributed to a number of factors.

"Well, certainly there was a heightened sense of anxiety in the community... because two children died in the same community within a week," he said.

"I would also say we publicized fairly aggressively the flu clinics through social mediaand then media outlets were extremely helpful in getting the word out."

Ferguson said public health doesn't normally have flu clinics, as the majority of the public get their flu shots from their physician or a pharmacist.

'Ten times what we are used to'

According to the head of the Guelph Pharmacists Association, pharmacies "absolutely" experienced a spike in demand for a flu shot in the days after the deaths were confirmed.

"Our busiest time for flu shots is usually November and even at that we will get 10 to 20 people a day in,"Lisa MacEachern, a Guelph pharmacist and head of the GPA, told CBC News.

"Saturday alone in four hours I vaccinated 150 peopleand we just ran out of vaccine, but I probably could have done 150 more," MacEachern said.

"I would say it's easily ten times what we are used to."

Never experienced anything like this

Shesaid the steep spike in demand is "absolutely the deaths" of the two children.

She said not all pharmacies give flu vaccines, but the ones that do have said they are just as busy as the pharmacies she works at Kortright Pharmacy and Pharmasave at Westminster Square in Guelph.

MacEachern said she has never experienced anything like this before.

She said she experienced the chaosa little bit when H1N1 was big, but pharmacies weren't giving vaccinations at that time.

"I have never seen this before as a pharmacist that's doing the vaccinating," she said.

Ferguson said he respects that people in the Guelph area are anxious about the flu, but reassured that there is no greater threat of the flu in one specific areaand that there is flu activity throughout southwestern Ontario.