Public Health is ‘strongly recommending’ that everyone six months of age and older get a flu shot ‘as soon as they can’ in light of a sudden surge of Influenza A in Canada.

The particularly virulent strain, which has already claimed the lives of three children in Ontario, is resulting in a higher number of hospitalizations and complications.

A quarter of all confirmed cases of the flu has occurred in children under 10 years of age, yet only one tenth of children in that age range have been vaccinated for the flu so far this season.

Public Health officials are concerned with the possibility of continued spread of the illness as the busy Christmas season approaches.

Notifications have been sent out to schools across the province to alert people to the risks.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says those aged five to nine have been hit the hardest so far this year.

“We’re always concerned about people at the extremes of age, so the really young and the older adults, but this year we are seeing an increase in children in general, especially in that five to nine age group,” she told reporters.

“So we would certainly want to encourage parents to, if you have kids in that age group in particular, that perhaps they really consider getting the flu shot this year.”

She says ways to avoid spreading the flu include getting your flu shot, staying home if you are sick, washing your hands frequently with soap and water, covering coughs or sneezes, and keeping surfaces clean and disinfected.

Flu shots can be arranged through the province’s Time for the Shot page, or through your local pharmacy.