Seasonal influenza
Vaccinate to protect yourselfSeasonal influenza is an infectious and highly contagious viral infection which occurs every year, typically between October and March.
This winter, more people are likely to contract the flu, as fewer people will have acquired a natural immunity against the disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For this reason, the Health Directorate (Direction de la santé) strongly recommends getting vaccinated against the seasonal flu each year. The flu vaccine is safe and effective. It is offered every year to protect people who are likely to become seriously ill if they catch flu.
While vaccination is recommended in the strongest possible terms for people at a high level of risk, everyone can be vaccinated against the flu.
The best time to get the flu vaccine is in autumn, or early winter, before the virus begins to spread in earnest. Nevertheless, you can still get vaccinated later in the year.
What are the symptoms, and what complications may occur?
Seasonal flu should not be confused with a cold or a chill. The most common symptoms of flu occurring without complications are the sudden onset of fever, shivers, headaches, muscle aches and a dry cough. The cough may persist for quite some time; the other symptoms typically disappear after 7-14 days.
However, seasonal influenza is particularly dangerous because of the complications that it can cause. For the most part, these complications are pneumonia, usually in the elderly and in people suffering from other chronic conditions which leave them particularly vulnerable to pneumonia.
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