Influenza (Flu)

You can help protect yourself against the flu by getting the flu vaccine. The earlier you get the vaccine, the better your chances are to prevent getting the flu. The flu is a viral infection that can have severe complications. Anyone can get the flu virus. The flu is not just a cold. You could miss school, work, parties, holidays, or even end up in the hospital.

The flu vaccine helps your body help itself. The vaccine will trigger your body to fight off infection if you come into contact with the flu. This means you either will not get the flu, or the symptoms will be greatly reduced. Each year, different strains of the flu virus appear. Scientists predict which strains will be most likely to affect us for the coming year. These strains are used to make up the year's flu vaccine. This is why it is important to be immunized each fall.

Getting your flu vaccine is good for everyone. When more people get their flu vaccine, the odds of the flu virus spreading goes down. This protects those who are most vulnerable such as children under five, adults 65 years or older, pregnant women, as well as those living with chronic health conditions like diabetes, cancer, and HIV/AIDS.

In addition to getting your flu vaccine, remember to be COVID Wise:

• W – Wear a mask or face covering where required, or when you?cannot maintain a physical distance of two metres (six feet).
• I – Isolate yourself from others when you are sick (and get tested promptly if you have COVID-like symptoms).
• S – Stay two metres (six feet) apart from those outside your household.
• E – Exercise proper hand hygiene; wash your hands regularly or use sanitizer especially before touching your face.

Download our fact sheet on What You Need to Know About COVID-19.

If you are in distress (e.g., significant trouble breathing, chest pain, fainting, or have a significant worsening of any chronic disease symptoms), do not go to the Assessment Centre or a COVID-19 Care clinic. Go to the nearest Emergency Department or call 9-1-1.

Ottawa Public Health is holding community flu clinics, for all Ottawa residents aged 6 months and older. These clinics are held at several fixed locations across the city. To avoid crowding, clinics will be by appointment only, 7 days a week including daytime and evening appointments. The quadrivalent vaccine will be available at our flu clinics. Please see the Vaccine Availability section for more information.

Online booking system

Appointment bookings are available on our online booking system and by phone at 613-580-6744. The appointment booking staff have access to the same booking system that is available to the general public online. Before arriving at the clinic, please take the time to print and fill out the consent form. One consent form per individual getting vaccinated is required and please ensure that you are printing the entire document. You can also fill out your consent form at your appointment if you do not have a printer.

• Adult Consent Form
• Child Consent Form (17 years old or less)
• Formulaire de consentement pour adulte
• Formulaire de consentement pour enfant (17 ans et moins)

The appointment time slots will be released based on the following schedule*:

The community clinics will adhere to all infection prevention guidelines and protocols including physical distancing and universal masking among others.

*Please note that clinic release dates are subject to change based on community demand and vaccine availability.

Clinic locations: 

• Ottawa Public Library-Orléans Branch, 1705 Orléans Blvd., Orléans
• Lansdowne - Horticulture Building, 1525 Princess Patricia, Downtown
• Mary Pitt Centre, 100 Constellation Dr., Nepean
• Chapman Mills Community Building, 424 Chapman Mills Drive, Barrhaven
• Eva James Memorial Centre, 65 Stonehaven Drive, Kanata
• Notre-Dame-Des-Champs Community Hall, 3659 Navan Road, Orléans (Will be amalgamated with the library starting November 19th, 2020)

**Starting November 19th, the Notre-Dame-Des-Champs Community Hall clinic will be amalgamating with the Ottawa Public Library-Orléans Branch site. Additional resources have been added at the Library to accommodate the same number of clients in the east end.

Please call ahead to your local pharmacy to ensure vaccine availability.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has used all the doses of the high-dose trivalent (HD-TIV) vaccine for those 65 years old and older that were allotted to OPH for the 2020-2021 Universal Influenza Immunization Program.  No additional doses of the high-dose trivalent vaccine are anticipated to be provided to OPH.

The standard-dose quadrivalent vaccine (QIV) continues to be a good option for individuals over 6 months of age, including adults over the age of 65 years. If you are over the age of 65 and have not received the flu vaccine this year, you are encouraged to seek out opportunities to receive the QIV. Both QIV and HD-TIV protect against the flu, and the most important thing is for older adults to be vaccinated.

There is no preferential recommendation for high-dose TIV over the quadrivalent (QIV) according to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. 

Ottawa Public Health has a supply of the QIV vaccine to serve our Ottawa residents who book at our community clinics.

National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) Statement on Seasonal Influenza Vaccine 2020-2021

Vaccine precautions

The flu vaccine is safe for anyone 6 months of age or older who does not have a contraindication to the flu vaccine. Persons with egg allergy can safely receive any influenza vaccine and do not need any special precautions or testing.

Flu vaccine is contraindicated in persons who had an anaphylactic reaction to the flu vaccine or to a component of the flu vaccine before. If you had an anaphylactic reaction to a flu vaccine before, a consultation with an allergist is recommended prior to flu vaccination.

Reports