Flu season is upon us and health officials in the province are bracing for a more severe season than in previous years.

Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to begin its fall flu vaccination campaign sometime in October. This will be the first year with flu circulating widely since COVID restrictions all but put an end to it over the last few years.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald explains that they look to the southern hemisphere for indications of what our flu season could look like. It started sooner than usual in Australia and more people, especially the younger ones, were admitted to hospital.

Fitzgerald attributes the more severe season to people not being exposed to the flu over the last few years.

She says because the flu hasn’t been circulating, people haven’t had an opportunity to boost their immunity to it. Fitzgerald says it also depends on the type of flu. The H3 strain tends to be more severe, which is what has been circulating.