She said there\u2019s more COVID-19 around at the moment than respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or the flu.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we do know from the rest of the world that we\u2019re starting to see influenza go up and it\u2019s been a crappy influenza season in other parts of the world, so likely it\u2019s going to be a tough one here too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Barrett said some people say they have a cold when they actually have the flu, which can cause more severe symptoms and complications. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who have bad immune systems go to the hospital all the time and sometimes younger people too, and so influenza, not just a cold, it\u2019s cold+, and it can really cause not just a hospitalization or a pneumonia, but long-term side effects, worsening heart disease, heart attacks, all kinds of things come along with bad influenza so, if you can, it\u2019s a good thing not to get,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Currently, in Nova Scotia, free vaccines are available<\/a> for COVID-19 and the flu as well as RSV for eligible babies and seniors.<\/p>\n Health experts call these \u201cvaccine-preventable diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re lucky, not all of the world, especially our southern neighbours these days, have such access to free vaccine, we have lots of it. And so one of the best things you can do is get vaccinated, not too late, and just before the holiday season before you get together, go to long-term care homes, or to see your older folks that are in your family,\u201d said Barrett.<\/p>\n There have been warnings that this year\u2019s flu vaccine may not be as strong of a match<\/a> compared to previous years. It is made months in advance based on patterns seen in other parts of the world, and sometimes the virus changes too quickly.<\/p>\n However, Barrett points out, it still prevents hospitalizations and ICU admissions for many people.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso there are other strains that are well-matched still that might not be as common but are still floating around, and this vaccine will still protect you against those,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a great match this year, but it is still a great vaccine, and something that I certainly will get and encourage all my family to get.\u201d<\/p>\n Barrett adds, if you haven\u2019t gotten a shot yet, it\u2019s not too late to get one before the holidays. <\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, you have a couple weeks before it\u2019s going to give you the best protection, so try and get it done now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen flu go up really, really fast yet. The trend is starting, and there\u2019s still six out of every hundred of the tests we do for COVID are still positive \u2014 that\u2019s a lot. Six per cent is still a lot, so it\u2019s still around.\u201d<\/p>\n Barrett also recommends basic tips to avoid getting sick, such as washing your hands, only using a tissue once, and practising good respiratory hygiene. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re sick, staying away from others who might be vulnerable, that\u2019s all really important stuff that we can still do. And some people can wear masks still if they\u2019re in big, crowded areas or if you have symptoms, lots of my colleagues, we don\u2019t wear masks every single moment, but if you get some symptoms and you\u2019re out with other people, especially vulnerable folks, wear a mask,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, IWK Health<\/a> announced that all staff, visitors and patients are required to wear masks<\/a> at its Halifax facility.<\/p>\n \u201cNova Scotia Health for some reason hasn\u2019t yet, but really do consider it,\u201d Barrett said. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of very vulnerable cancer patients, transplant patients, older folks that are in hospital, so consider that.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/J2ATSS4BGJCSNGKG3DINZ5WOQY.jpg\")
Flu vaccine A person gets a shot during a flu vaccine program in Calgary on Oct. 26, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Jeff McIntosh (Jeff McIntosh\/THE CANADIAN PRESS) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Infectious disease specialist Dr. Lisa Barrett chats about staying healthy during respiratory virus season. Many people are out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,16194,103574,50363,125259,84,66894,29180,35765,15019],"class_list":["post-316287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-covid","tag-dr-lisa-barrett","tag-flu","tag-flu-shot","tag-health","tag-illness","tag-iwk","tag-masks","tag-vaccines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}