A Saugeen Shores mother is urging community members to get a flu shot to help protect her young son who is undergoing cancer treatment.
Three-year-old Easton has a weakened immune system, and getting influenza could be devastating. He and his family got their flu shots to help prevent spreading the virus, but the vaccine may not as effective for Easton due to his compromised immune system.
Influenza makes about five million Canadians sick every year. While no vaccine is 100 per cent effective, the flu shot decreases the severity of symptoms and the likelihood of complications. It also helps prevent the spread of influenza to others.
“Every time we take him out to do simple things like watch a sibling’s hockey game or go to the grocery store, it becomes a minefield that we now have to navigate through,” says Easton’s mother, Alicia. “Getting the flu shot can literally save his life or any other immunocompromised person in [the] community.”
