It appears most Manitobans either couldn't be bothered to get a flu shot or don't think one is necessary. Those are the findings from a survey released by Prairie Research Associates (PRA).

Bev Unger, who is Regional Manager for Public Health/ Healthy Living says about 15% of residents from Southern Health-Santé Sud got the flu shot this last year. No other regional health

authority (RHA) in the province had a lower percentage. By comparison, the provincial average was 21% and Winnipeg RHA had the highest percentage at 24%.

"We aren't surprised with the fifteen percent, it's fairly consistent over the last few years," admits Unger. "We're fairly consistent with being one of the lower RHA's as far as coverage rate for flu shots as well."

Unger says there have been some changes to the seasonal influenza program in recent years and so it is pointless to do a comparison dating back more than five or six years. For example, she says five years ago the program targeted the senior population, those living with chronic conditions and anyone with a newborn or infant in their home. Today, they encourage anyone to get immunized, except for children under the age of six months.

According to PRA, 37% of Manitobans say they couldn't be bothered to get a flu shot, 28% don't think it is necessary, 18% say their reason for not getting immunized is because they have heard about or experienced bad reactions, 13% feel it will not work and the rest haven't given a reason.

Unger says it is important to look at the different age groups that get the flu shot. She says 46% of those aged 65 and older were immunized last year. The percentage for the other age groups drops significantly, but Unger says you must keep in mind that this has yet to become a routine part of health care for most people. For infants between birth and two years of age, 11% of the population got immunized, for school-aged children only 6% were immunized and for adults under the age of 65, it climbs back up to 11%.

Meanwhile, the number of lab-confirmed cases of influenza was down considerably in this region last year compared to 2014-15. Unger explains this last year was a much better match between the vaccine and circulating strains. Southern Health-Santé Sud saw 80 cases per 100,000 people last year, which according to Unger is significantly less than Northern RHA but more than Winnipeg RHA.

Unger says the RHA will continue to have conversations about the importance of vaccinations, especially within the age groups where immunizations are not as popular. Unger says just because you might not be susceptible to influenza, you should get the shot in order not to spread the virus to a newborn or aging parent.