Influenza vaccination rates in Canada down from recent years – CTV

February 27, 2025

Fewer Canadians received the influenza vaccination this year than in prior years, in a trend one infectious disease expert says increases health risks.

Isaac Bogoch, a physician and researcher at University Health Network in Toronto, told CTV News in an interview Thursday that immunization rates are down two to seven per cent this year compared to prior years, a drop that can impact Canada’s health-care system.

“Influenza is a serious illness,” he said. “It’s not just the sniffles or a little cough or a cold, it is a semi-predictable seasonal virus that we get in the wintertime in the northern hemisphere and every year it can kill up to about half a million people on the planet.”

While Bogoch says influenza vaccination in the country has historically been low, with uptake typically “in the 20 to 35 per cent range” for some population groups, this decrease reflects a significant number of Canadians missing the vaccine who normally would not.

“We know that the flu is a serious pathogen, and it could cause significant illness, especially in those who are most vulnerable,” he said.

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/influenza-vaccination-rates-in-canada-down-from-recent-years/