On Wednesday, Peterborough Public Health (PPH) reported the first known case of influenza in the region.

“This is an early case of the flu in this region,” says Dr. Thomas Piggott, PPH Medical Officer of Health.

Sarah Gill, PPH Communications, says they “anticipate influenza to come into the community around November or December, so this is earlier than is typical.”

This season’s influenza vaccine, commonly called the flu shot, is not yet widely available. The vaccines have arrived and PPH is working to get them to the public as soon as they can, considering its early arrival.

“It is always best to have the influenza vaccine available and fully rolled out before influenza actually comes into our community,” says Gill.

The influenza vaccine is following a similar rollout schedule to previous COVID-19 vaccines, first being made available to those most vulnerable and at risk. Some of the groups who can access the influenza vaccine first are older adults, young children, infants, and immunocompromised individuals. Once available, PPH is “recommending everyone over 6 months of age receive their vaccines this fall,” says Gill.

PPH recommends regularly checking their website to stay updated on influenza and COVID-19 vaccine availability, and to monitor the COVID-19 and Respiratory Virus Risk Indexes.

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