Officials at Windsor Regional Hospital have suggested that this year's flu season could come early.
A forecast for the coming flu season was discussed at the hospital board's monthly meeting on Thursday night. It showed that people might want to get their flu shots sooner rather than later. Hospital president and CEO David Musyj said even though it's still technically summer in Windsor-Essex, flu season should always be taken seriously.
"We get used to this warm weather, and we don't think about it, and we don't talk about it, then before you know it, it's on us," said Musyj. "Especially with school back and we're all excited about that, but if we follow the Australian model, it's going to happen a lot earlier."
When preparing for the flu season, WRH looks at the flu situation in Australia, where it's winter during the Windsor-Essex summer. Flu cases began early in the season and became prevalent almost right away, earlier than usual. Musyj said one thing that was particularly concerning was the number of hospitalizations and deaths from the flu early in the Australian season this year.
Musyj said with that forecast in mind; people should consider getting their flu shots once one becomes available, sometime this fall.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit publishes flu updates throughout flu season. In the meantime, for information about getting a flu shot, visit the health unit's official website.