Influenza spreads easily from person to person through breathing, coughing, and sneezing. The virus can also spread when a person touches tiny droplets from coughs or sneezes on another person or on an object and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

An infected person can spread the influenza virus even before feeling sick. An adult can spread the virus from about 1 day before to 5 days after symptoms start. Young children may be able to spread the virus for a longer period of time.
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• Get plenty of rest
• Drink extra fluids to replace those lost from fever
• Avoid smoking and ask others not to smoke in the house
• Breathe moist air from a hot shower or from a sink filled with hot water to help clear a stuffy nose

Anti-influenza drugs or antivirals are available by prescription. For them to work best, you must take them within 48 hours after your symptoms start . If you take them within 12 hours, they will shorten symptoms by about 3 days. If you take them within 2 days from the start of your symptoms, your symptoms will be shortened by about 1.5 days. 

Non-prescription cough and cold medications are available for relief of influenza symptoms. These medications are not recommended for children under 6 years old.

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• Getting an influenza vaccine
• Staying home when you are ill
• Washing your hands regularly
• Cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces that many people touch
• Promptly disposing of used tissues in the waste basket or garbage
• Coughing and sneezing into your shirt sleeve rather than your hands

Getting an influenza vaccine is a great way to prevent you from getting sick with influenza and from spreading it to others.
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Influenza can be mild, but it can also cause serious illness and can lead to hospitalization and even death. A person with influenza is at risk of other infections, including viral or bacterial pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs.

Everybody is at risk of getting sick from influenza, but infants and young children and the elderly are especially vulnerable and at highest risk of serious illness from influenza. If you are pregnant or if you have certain medical conditions, you are also at very high risk.

For people with chronic diseases, influenza can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure and other complications.

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Consult your health care provider early if you develop influenza-like symptoms and you have a condition that puts you at very high risk of severe disease and complications.

You should also call your health care provider if you get new or worsening symptoms, including shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chest pain, or signs of dehydration (dizziness when standing or low urine output).

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The influenza vaccines work by helping your body recognize the influenza virus by creating antibodies in the body about two weeks after you get the vaccine. These antibodies and other parts of your immune system provide protection against infection if you get exposed to it later that season.

An influenza vaccine is needed every year for two main reasons: the influenza viruses are constantly changing, and the protection the vaccine gives you declines over time. Each year, the viruses used to make the vaccine are reviewed and updated as needed. This helps protect you against the viruses that are more likely to circulate that year.

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The 2022-23 seasonal influenza vaccines protect against 4 different influenza viruses:

• A/Victoria/2570/2019 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
• A/Darwin/9/2021 (H3N2)-like virus (NEW THIS SEASON)
• B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus (NEW THIS SEASON)
• B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata lineage)-like virus

There are several inactivated influenza vaccines available in B.C. The inactivated vaccines are made of killed influenza viruses or of inactive parts of influenza viruses and are given by injection.

Another influenza vaccine, the Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (the nasal spray vaccine, also known as LAIV or Flumist®) is made of live weakened influenza viruses and is given as a nasal spray. It is intended for those eligible individuals 2-17 years of age (inclusive).

Publicly-funded influenza vaccines available in B.C. for 2022/23 include:

• FLUZONE®-Quadrivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine
  • Intended for those 6 months to 64 years of age
• FLUAD®-Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (Adjuvanted) (NEW THIS SEASON)
  • Intended for those age 65 years of age and older residing in the community
• FLUZONE®-High-Dose Quadrivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine
  • Intended for those 65 years of age and older living in long term care, assisted living facilities and First Nations communities
• FLUMIST®-Quadrivalent Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine
  • Intended for those 2-17 years of age. May be offered to those 18-59 years of age who have needle phobia and are unwilling to get another influenza vaccine, provided informed consent includes that quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIIV) provides better protection against influenza for this age group. 

To learn more about this year’s seasonal influenza vaccine, visit ImmunizeBC: Influenza and BC Centre for Disease Control: Intended Use of Influenza Vaccines.
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Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a yearly influenza vaccination with rare exception. 

Vaccination is especially important for people who are at high risk of serious illness from influenza (such as young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with certain medical conditions) and those able to transmit or spread influenza to those at high risk. 

This fall and winter, everyone in British Columbia who is six months of age and older can get the influenza vaccine free of charge. 

To learn more about the influenza vaccine, see HealthLinkBC File # 12d Inactivated Influenza (Flu) Vaccine.

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Speak with your health care provider if you:

• Had a life-threatening allergic reaction to a previous dose of influenza vaccine, or any part of the vaccine (people with egg allergies can be safely immunized)
• Developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting any influenza vaccine without another cause being identified

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B.C. has an Influenza Prevention Policy to protect high risk people from getting influenza. Those at high risk include infants, young children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with certain medical conditions.

Health care workers are required to be immunized against influenza or wear a mask when they are in patient care areas during the influenza season. Students, volunteers and visitors to health care facilities and other patient care locations are also expected to wear a mask if they did not get an influenza vaccine.

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People with egg allergies can be safely immunized with the inactivated influenza vaccine.

Most people with allergies can get an influenza vaccine without any problems. However, if you have had a severe allergic reaction to a previous dose of influenza vaccine or to any part of the vaccine, talk to your health care provider. You may need to be tested for allergies before being immunized.
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You can get the influenza vaccine at pharmacies, public health units and doctors' offices. 

For more HealthLink BC File topics, visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca/healthfiles. Your local public health office may have printed copies that they can give you.

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This fall and winter, everyone in British Columbia who is six months of age or older can get the Influenza vaccine free of charge.

To learn more about the influenza vaccine see HealthLink File # 12d Inactivated Influenza (flu) Vaccine .

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