SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
Saskatoon pharmacist Graham Houk says it’s especially important to get your flu shot this fall, as both seasonal influenza and COVID-19 circulate in the population.
“We’ve made it convenient, we’ve made it safe for patients to get these flu shots in pharmacies. We’ve upped a lot of our cleaning, our sanitizing, our universal precautions with people so they can feel comfortable, they can feel safe coming to a pharmacy to be vaccinated for the flu this year,” said Houk, who has worked with Loblaw’s pharmacies for eight years.
He noted two main concerns of the so-called twindemic.
“One is because the flu and COVID-19 share some similar symptoms, we run the risk of overloading our healthcare system with people unsure, is it the flu, is it COVID-19. The second concern is that people that come down with the flu, that become ill with the flu, that is a predisposing factor to potentially allowing a COVID-19 infection on top of that, which could make things worse for them.”
Even though the flu vaccine isn’t going to prevent COVID-19, it will help alleviate worries about double infection, he said.
“Ultimately, when we talk about the twindemic, we are trying to protect our health care system from becoming overwhelmed.”
About 3,500 people die in Canada each year from the flu, with 12,000 to 13,000 people hospitalized, he said. Canada has seen 191,732 COVID-19 cases to date, with 9,699 deaths.
The long term implications of a COVID-19 infection aren’t known, he said.
“Hypothetically, a person comes down with COVID-19, has minor, moderate symptoms, they recover, what are the ramifications down the road? We don’t know that. So at the end of the day were really just out here trying to help people understand that reducing your chance of infection is your best step.”
Many of the symptoms can be similar between the two illnesses - it can be tricky to tell the difference, he said.
“Both the flu and COVID-19, you’re going to have tiredness, fatigue, fever. The big difference that some people with COVID-19 are presenting with is shortness of breath. The flu doesn’t generally present with shortness of breath.
“But regardless of which symptoms you have, if you have symptoms which are worrisome which you may think are COVID-19, we ask that you immediately reduce your contact with individuals and reach out to the appropriate health care professionals.”
Flu clinics will begin on Monday.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
6 pm |
| 11 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: WNW 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 18 KM/H |
|
|
 |
7 pm |
| 11 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: WNW 10 KM/H
GUSTING TO 17 KM/H |
|
|
|
8 pm |
| 11 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: WNW 10 KM/H
GUSTING TO 16 KM/H |
|
|
|
9 pm |
| 10 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: WNW 9 KM/H
GUSTING TO 15 KM/H |
|
|
|
10 pm |
| 8 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: WNW 9 KM/H
GUSTING TO 15 KM/H |
|
|
|
11 pm |
| 5 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: WNW 7 KM/H
GUSTING TO 10 KM/H |
|
|
|
12 am |
| 3 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: W 5 KM/H
GUSTING TO 7 KM/H |
|
|
|
1 am |
| 4 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: W 4 KM/H
GUSTING TO 6 KM/H |
|
|
|
 |
TODAY |
HIGH OF 16 ℃
LOW OF 3 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 14 ℃
LOW OF 1 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 22 ℃
LOW OF 7 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 13 ℃
LOW OF 4 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 4 ℃
LOW OF 3 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 4 ℃
LOW OF 1 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 15 ℃
LOW OF 1 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 13 ℃
LOW OF 6 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
| Wondershare PDFelement Thanksgiving - BOGO + 50% Off! |
| |
| Celebrate Thanksgiving with Wondershare PDFelement! Buy one, get one free and enjoy up to 50% off on powerful PDF editing tools. |
| |
| Thanksgiving offer ends soon - get BOGO + up to 50% off now! |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
ABBY ANDERSON
SEE YOU LIKE THAT
06:55 PM |
|
 |
QUENTIN REDDY
BEAUTIFUL CRAZY LIFE
06:51 PM |
|
 |
HARDY
CAR THAT DROVE YOU AWAY
06:48 PM |
|
 |
MADDIE AND TAE
GIRL IN ALABAMA
06:42 PM |
|
 |
WALKER HAYES
ONE TWO
06:39 PM |
|
 |
COLT FORD
TRUCK ON FIRE
06:37 PM |
|
 |
JON WOLFE
TEQUILA COWBOYS
06:33 PM |
|
 |
HIGH VALLEY
LIVING RIGHT
06:29 PM |
|
 |
ELI YOUNG BAND
NOTHING ON THE WILD
06:27 PM |
|
 |
JUSTIN CHAMPAGNE
WHISKEYS CALLING
06:24 PM |
|
 
 |
