Manitoba parents urged to get flu shots for kids, whose vaccination rates are lowest among all age groups

Amid a spike in influenza cases that has prompted calls for children to get immunized, fewer Manitoba kids have been vaccinated against the seasonal virus than any other age group.

Dr. William Li, a pediatrician and the incoming vice-president of the Manitoba Pediatric Society, said he's been seeing slower uptake on the flu shot at his own practice.

"Across the board, specifically from a pediatrics perspective, it's been a little bit slower than what we've typically seen in the past," he said.

"I think it's important for us to get out there and make sure that we're making the public aware that we are seeing flu and we're seeing severe outcomes with flu."

The emergency department at Winnipeg's Children's Hospital has seen three times as many kids testing positive for influenza than normal for this time of year, the hospital's medical director and section head of pediatric emergency medicine said Tuesday. 

Influenza and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, are among the viruses that have led to what's been described as unprecedented numbers of sick kids at the children's ER in recent weeks.

The Manitoba Pediatric Society is encouraging families to make sure all eligible kids six months old and up get the flu shot, which Li said is one of the best ways to protect children.

Dr. Joss Reimer, the chief medical officer for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, also urged families to get kids vaccinated during a news conference on wait times Thursday.

"A lot of parents don't take their kids in for an influenza vaccine and right now we really encourage you to do that," she said.

But so far, the number of young Manitobans who have been vaccinated remains low.

According to data provided by the province showing seasonal influenza vaccination coverage by age group, 6.1 per cent of Manitoba children aged four and under have been immunized for the flu, as of Nov. 16. For kids age five to 14, that number is 6.6 per cent. 

The province is expected to provide updated numbers on influenza vaccination rates Friday in its weekly COVID-19 and influenza surveillance report. 

Li suggests one reason for the slow uptake may be because so much of the recent focus has been on COVID-19.

"I think a lot of it is fuelled from the fact that we haven't seen a lot of flu and so it hasn't been really a very high topic of discussion in the last couple of years."