The number of people in northern B.C. who received a flu vaccine shot up 28 per cent compared with last winter, according to Northern Health.
The health authority and other vaccine providers distributed more than 61,000 doses during the 2013-14 season, compared with about 48,000 a year earlier. New rules this year made many more British Columbians eligible to receive a taxpayer-funded shot, rather than having to pay out of pocket for the vaccine.
Province-wide a record 1.4 million doses were handed out this year.
The provincial government estimates that this year's version of the vaccine was 74 per cent effective against the strains of flu that circulated around the province.
"We are pleased to see that not only are more people getting vaccinated, the vaccine that was available this year was very effective in protecting against influenza," provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said in a news release. "The earlier you get vaccinated, the better prepared you are to fight the flu."
New rules this year made B.C. the first province in Canada to mandate all healthcare workers get the flu shot or wear a mask when in patient areas during flu season. In Northern Health 75 per cent of workers opted to get the shot, up from 73 per cent a year ago. That was slightly below the provincial average of 80 per cent.
The new regulations also called on all visitors to acute care facilities to get vaccinated or wear a mask.
"I also know that health-care providers made an extraordinary effort to protect their patients by getting vaccinated or wearing a mask, which is appreciated by all British Columbians," Health Minister Terry Lake said in a news release.
