Our Annual Flu Shot Clinics will run INSIDE THE OFFICE and is by APPOINTMENT ONLY. As we have a limited supply this year, we do not have the capacity to vaccinate people without an appointment.

WHERE: Inside the office at 1133 Lonsdale Avenue (3rd floor).

WHO: North Shore Medical patients only. We kindly ask that anyone with a needle phobia, or any children requiring extra attention or preparation for vaccinations, book an appointment with their doctor separate from the flu shot clinic.

WHEN:
Dates and times for the 2025 Flu Shot Clinic will be announced soon.Please check back for updates.
HOW: Appointment only. Please do not call the office, see information below.  You do not need to book with your own doctor, as any of the physicians will be working the flu shot clinic and administering shots. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• We are only offering the Influenza vaccine at this time, not the COVID vaccine.
• We cannot guarantee a sufficient supply of the Fluad vaccine for individuals aged 65 and older. While we will do our best to provide this vaccine to all who meet the eligibility criteria, if supplies are limited, we will administer the Fluzone vaccine as an alternative. Priority is determined by age.
• We do not have any Flumist available at the Flu Shot Clinic this year.
• “No-shows” and last-minute cancellations are extremely disruptive to our clinics and leave vaccines unclaimed. Please provide 48 hours notice if you cannot make your appointment. 

HOW TO REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT:

Please do not call the office, instead email [email protected] with the following information for EACH person you would like to make an appointment for:

1)      Full name
2)      Family doctor
3)      List two date preferences

You will receive a response within 48-72 hours containing an appointment notification with a time slot between 9am and 12pm.

AT YOUR APPOINTMENT:

• Please bring your health card and wear clothing that allows the doctors to access your arm.
• You are expected to complete a consent and questionnaire at your appointment.
• This is for flu shots only. If you have any other medical concerns to discuss with a doctor you will need to book a separate appointment in the office for this.
• You are asked to refrain from driving and remain in the area for 15 minutes after.
• You may be vaccinated by any doctor at the clinic, not necessarily your family MD.
• We recommend wearing a mask.
• We will try our best to keep the website regularly updated with any important information 

​We appreciate your patience during this busy time. 

As of Sunday April 28th, London Drug Pharmacies are closed until further notice across B.C, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. While pharmacists are said to to be standing by to assist with urgent requests, we recommend that patients consider the following to ensure seemless care:

For urgent prescriptions, please provide our office with the name, address and fax number of an alternative phamacy and we will do our best to redirect. 

For non-urgent prescriptions, we recommend waiting a few days until London Drugs corrects the issue. 

We appreciate your patience as we deal with higher than normal patient requests. 

By January 29th, cervix screening in BC will begin to transition from cytology (PAP test) to HPV testing as the primary screening method for cervical cancer. We will provide more information as we receive it. In the meantime, you are welcome to review the following resources provided by BC Cancer.

For patients of Dr.’s Corcoran, Hislop, Lee, and Sambor *only*:
 
You may have recently received an email from us regarding “Patient Attachment”.
 
Here again is the “Attachment Agreement” you are being asked to confirm:
 
"As your primary care provider I, along with my practice team, agree to:

• Provide you with safe and appropriate care
• Coordinate any specialty care you may need
• Offer you timely access to care, to the best of my ability and as reasonably possible in the circumstances
• Maintain an ongoing record of your health
• Keep you updated on any changes to services offered at my clinic
• Communicate with you honestly and openly so we can best address your health care needs

 
As my patient I ask that you:

• Seek your health care from me and my team whenever possible and, in my absence, through my colleague(s)
• Name me as your primary care provider if you have to visit an emergency facility or another provider
• Communicate with me honestly and openly so we can best address your health care needs”

 
Here is the link to the form we are asking you to complete (same form as in the email - you only need to complete the form once PER person, but it must be done for every individual, including children) to indicate your/their agreement with this “Attachment” document: https://forms.gle/GAxNzeAQ6EaUPKEK9
 
Thank-you for your attention to this matter. Have a great day!
​

​Hello everyone,

We’d like to update you all once more regarding Covid-19, and have some important information to
share regarding the state of the pandemic here in BC, vaccines, and perhaps most importantly, variants
of Covid-19 that have started to appear not just in other parts of the world, but here too. This will be a
mixed picture of some good news (regarding the vaccines), but some serious concerns regarding the
Covid-19 variants as well.

As before, we will begin with a summary of the key points that everyone should read, and more detailed
information below for those who are interested.

Key Points

1. The pandemic in BC is essentially in a state where it is ‘simmering’. The levels are not huge. Hospitals are not overwhelmed. But it is there. People are sick. Too many are still dying. And this could get worse quite fast. We could have dramatically larger numbers within as little as a few weeks. It’s critical to remember that if we wait until the numbers go up, it is too late. The only way to keep this virus at bay, is to stay ahead of it, and take action before there is a problem.
2. There are now a few variants of Covid-19. This occurs when portions of the virus mutate enough to change their function. At least one of the variants is *much* more contagious than the original Covid-19, and somewhat more dangerous.
3. There are now highly effective vaccines available, and virtually all adults should get it (like around 99.999% of you reading this). We will review the exceptionally rare cases where people shouldn’t get it below.
4. The vaccine rollout in Canada has been very slow so far, but thankfully that is about to change. The remainder of February will still be slow. It will however pick up in March. We are anticipating a massive roll-out beginning in April. This will initially be through mass immunization clinics (not family doctor offices). Additional information from the BC CDC available here: http://covid-19.bccdc.ca
5. Please avoid calling the office about this as our phone lines are already overwhelmed a lot of the time. We WILL update you. Probably monthly.
6. The timing of eligibility for vaccine will be based almost exclusively on age. That is, over 80 year olds in March. Over 70 year olds starting some time in April. Over 60 year olds likely in May. And so on. We (your doctors) have either already been vaccinated, or will be in March.
7. Health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, immunosuppressed state, history of cancer, active cancer etc will *not* affect the date you are offered the vaccine. These conditions do increase ones’ risk, but not as much as age does.

The Details

So what is happening with the pandemic?
It has unfortunately been rough in some parts of the world, while others have frankly tamed it very
effectively using straightforward (which does not mean ‘easy’) measures. Much of the USA, Europe, and
numerous other countries have experienced second waves (and even third ones) that were at least as
large as the first. Canada was no exception. BC had an obvious second wave, but with increased control
measures this has settled down *somewhat*. Many of these locations had relaxed various control
measures, and had to re-instate them in varying degrees. Some places went back into extreme
measures, with closing of all non-essential businesses, and schools. These measures are costly, but it is
100% crystal clear that they work. New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam are notable
for their highly aggressive measures. In some of these locations, just a few cases lead to a widespread
lockdown there. They have had incredibly good control with this, and while it is very hard initially on
their economies, they are able to relax their restrictions far beyond what we have done. In recent
months, Australia has had theaters open, they have had concerts and sporting events with audiences.
This has *nothing* to do with the fact that they are an island, and everything to do with the safety
measures, and the unity of action by their societies. Places like Vietnam have enjoyed excellent control
as well.

How do the new variants affect this?
In short, badly. Ireland went from having 500 cases per day, to *8000* cases per day in 2 weeks. That
is quite astonishing. They entered a hard ‘lockdown’ and brought it under control. The UK, where that
variant was first identified fared similarly. All schools in both those locations have been closed since
around January 1 st . That variant does not generally stay under control unless increased measures are
taken, *beyond* what was done for the original strain we were dealing with for the past year. That
being said, it *can* be controlled, just like the original. All the new strains can. In Ireland’s case, they got
it back down to about 1000 cases per day, where it has been simmering ever since. This isn’t all about
cases. Hospital admissions, critical cases, and deaths followed the increase in cases by about 1-3 weeks.
The key takeaway from this is that this is not over just yet. In fact, if we are not careful, and if we do not
respond rapidly enough, then we will certainly face a massive outbreak just like occurred in numerous
other countries. We are not ‘special’, and it can happen to us too. This means that you must continue to
wear masks in all indoor spaces AND try to keep your distance from others. If you have to get close to
someone, inside or out, WEAR A MASK AND MINIMIZE THE CONTACT TIME. 5 minutes is starting to be
long. 10 minutes is very long. This is why we are trying to keep our office visits with you short, and do as
much of the talking as possible by phone or video consult. Avoid going out if you don’t really have to.
Severely limit your travel. There is exactly one way these bugs got here in the first place. There is exactly
one way they move from one location to another – through us.

It is furthermore important to note that immunity to the original strain from prior infection may *not*
last, and may not be protective against the newer strains. Manaus is a city in Brazil that had a massive
first wave – so large that it was thought perhaps the population had truly developed herd immunity.
That was incorrect – at least as far as the new strains are concerned, and they are now in the midst of
going through that all over again with a new massive outbreak. How bad is it there? In this city of 2
million people, hospitals ran out of oxygen tanks. They couldn’t provide sick patients oxygen. Let that
sink in. These new strains are NOT to be taken lightly.

So why haven’t we done more here?
This is a choice made at the governmental level. Societies’ tolerance and stamina for these measures
play a role. If the new variants spread here, it is highly likely that our safety measures will have to
increase.

Are schools still safe?
We continue to have relatively few outbreaks in schools here, but it is important to recognize that other
locations have had large outbreaks. While there was suspicion for some time that children got and
transmitted Covid-19 less than adults, there is more and more evidence that this theory is incorrect. To
be clear, children definitely don’t get severe illness as often, and studies do suggest that children
become sick *slightly* less often than adults. There is growing evidence that they transmit the virus just
as much as (and possible more than) adults do. That being said, the measures taken in schools here so
far (which focus on clustering students together into large bubbles to prevent spread between them,
keeping windows open, and keeping some distance between students) have been at least partly
effective. High school students now have to wear masks most of the time. Grade-school children do not
yet have a mandate to wear one, but they would likely be highly beneficial to preventing the spread of
Covid-19.

For this reason, if you have children in grade school, we now *very strongly recommend* they wear a
mask indoors at school at all times (except to eat). Just because there is no mandate, does not mean you
can’t choose to do more than that. Some of us have our own kids in grade school, who have been
wearing masks at school for months. It’s very do-able, and is likely very temporary at this point. The
vaccines are coming (more on this just below), and masks may only be needed for months.

The new Covid-19 strains may have a serious impact on this. They are clearly much more contagious,
including among children. This is part of the reason we are recommending people go beyond the current
public health mandates and have school-age children wear masks starting right now. We don’t want to

wait for these strains to start spreading. We need to stop them. We need to hold on long enough for the
vaccines to be distributed. We need to buy time.

Okay, what about the vaccines??!
The good news is they work!
Really really really well.

The vaccine story is just about the best possible outcome anyone could have hoped for. The initial
studies done on tens of thousands of people showed that they were extremely safe, and reduce the
likelihood of getting serious illness from Covid-19 dramatically. Since then, the vaccines have been rolled
out heavily in a few countries, most notably Israel, where about 30% of the country has been
vaccinated. They used an age-based approach, and so around 90% of those over the age of 60 have been
vaccinated. The country is now witnessing a very dramatic drop in Covid-19 in those over the age of
60,*even while illnesses among the under-60 unvaccinated population were continuing to increase*.
The dominant strain there is the more highly contagious and dangerous one identified in the UK. So the
vaccine is doing just fine against it.

Better still, while it remains slightly early to confirm this officially, there are some good indications that
the vaccine not only prevents serious illness, but actually strongly reduces transmission of the virus. This
is key, and means the vaccine will likely play a critical role in helping to actually end the pandemic.

Of course this means people have to actually get the vaccine. At the moment we have a terrible supply
problem in Canada. Once that starts to change next month, essentially ALL OF YOU, we repeat
essentially ALL OF YOU, should be getting the vaccine.

Who shouldn’t get the vaccine? If you previously had the Covid-19 vaccine and had an allergic reaction
to it, then this needs to be discussed in detail with your doctor. If you previously had an allergic reaction
to a substance called polyethylene glycol (PEG), this should be discussed with your doctor. If you have
had an anaphylactic reaction to an unknown substance then you should discuss this with your doctor.
That’s it.

People with a history of allergies in general will be getting the vaccine, but may be observed on site for a
short time right after the shot. Tens of millions of doses of the vaccines have been given. By the time any
of you reading this get it, it will likely be over 100 million people worldwide. We already know right now
that the likelihood of an allergic reaction is about the same as the odds of you getting hit by lightning in

the next 18 months. Is getting hit by lightning this year something you were worried about? You should
be exactly that worried about an allergic reaction to the vaccine.

What about other allergies? This is generally not an issue. Allergies to one thing generally don’t predict
allergies to something else. If you are allergic to nuts, we don’t tell you to avoid milk. They have nothing
to do with each other. Out of abundance of caution, there will be protocols in place to collect your past
allergy information from you, and you may be asked to remain at the vaccine site for a short time. This is
because in the rare case of an allergic reaction, the vast majority occur within 11 minutes of the vaccine
being given. The vast majority of allergic reactions have been easily treated *on site*. A small number
have had to go to hospital, and 100% of people worldwide who had allergic reactions to the vaccine,
including anaphylactic reactions, recovered with standard treatments for that, within a few hours.
Furthermore, they still developed some degree of immunity to Covid-19 from the 1 dose.

Which vaccine should I get?
Whichever one is available to you first. DO NOT WAIT. Period.

Will kids get the vaccine?
Probably. Studies have been launched for kids, and results should be available by late summer. It is
always important to do these studies, but at the same time, it would be unusual for there to be any
issue. In all likelihood the results will be exactly like in adults, the vaccines will be approved for those age
groups, and kids will get vaccinated too, but later in the year. In the meantime, if adults are all
vaccinated, community transmission should subside and this will help protect our children. They should
still get the vaccine later on because they are still susceptible, and some children do still get seriously ill,
especially to the new strains that are starting to circulate. A worrisome scenario is if adults are all
vaccinated and safety measures are relaxed, but the bug is still around, then cases among children could
skyrocket, with large numbers of children getting very sick.

The future is looking brighter, but we know everyone is tired of all this. Hang in there, let us know how
we can help you through this, we are hopefully at a turning point.

Best wishes, and stay safe,

North Shore Medical Group

Hello again everyone,
 
We wanted to provide you another update regarding the Covid19 pandemic. A lot has changed since our last communication, and we felt it was important to answer some of your questions, and provide some guidance on all this.
 
As with previous emails on this subject, we start with a brief summary of critical points. For those interested in additional details, please read on below. This will be a bit of a mix of caution, but also hope.
 
Key Points:

1. We are clearly in a second wave of the pandemic.
2. The pandemic in BC is not being adequately controlled at this time. Our current trajectory is not sustainable (although there may have been a levelling off in the last few days).
3. The only way to change that trajectory is to change our behavior. 
4. Numerous countries have shown us that this pandemic can be controlled by changing our behavior. They did it. We can do it. Period.
5. The biggest risk factors for getting infected are: Being indoors, with no mask, for over about 10-15 minutes in the presence of others.
6. There are now at least 3 vaccines that appear to be safe and effective, and which will start becoming available here in January *for select groups*. 
7. This is really important: The vaccines will not change our public health measures for *many* months, and possibly a year or more to come. This is because it may well take that long for the vaccine to become widely distributed enough for herd immunity to occur (approximately 70% of the entire population).
8. Our office will be maintaining strict public health protocols for months to come. Please follow our instructions closely. Please be kind to our staff. This is stressful for everyone.

 
The details:
As most of you have no doubt seen, as society in BC opened back up, Covid-19 began spreading once more. It has started spreading quite a bit, with a doubling of new cases per day roughly every 3 weeks over the last 2 months. It is critical to recognize that that is *not* sustainable. That curve has not been flat, it has been rising, steeply. Continuing for even a couple of more months along this path would likely lead to an overwhelmed health care system, much like occurred in other places such as Italy and New York. Additional measures were therefore put in place by the Public Health Office, such as requiring masks for all public indoor locations (other than schools), and limitations on athletic activities and visits to your home. These measures are entirely appropriate. What is not clear, is if they are enough. There has been a slight levelling off in the last few days. The challenge is that while cases, hospitalizations, and deaths can be kept low if there aren’t many in the first place, it’s very hard to get them low again once they go up. So far, no other country has successfully done so, without measures substantially more aggressive than we currently have in place. The flip side of that, is that several other countries have repeatedly demonstrated that they are able to suppress surges in viral infections. They have shown us how. We ‘just’ need to do it.
 
It is critical in this environment, to understand where virus transmission becomes a risk. We have known for some time that virus is spread partly by ‘droplets’, invisible fluid we expel when we breathe and which tend to travel up to about 6 feet, and then settle toward the ground. It is now clear that there is ‘airborne’ transmission as well. This means that not all of the virus settles to the ground, but rather hovers in the air for a much longer time (the duration of which remains unclear, but is probably 2-3 hours), and may travel a significant distance that way (around 20 feet or more depending on air currents, fans etc). This is why keeping distance from others is so essential, and why it is hard to maintain enough distance indoors. Masks can add a layer of protection and decrease the likelihood that you breath in the virus while in the presence of others. It is not a full-proof shield though, and should be seen as a *back-up* method of protection. Keeping your distance is much more important. Lastly, minimize your time in close contact with others as much as you can. You are less likely to get infected if you are next to someone for only a few seconds. With about 5-15 minutes of exposure time though, the risk goes up…a lot...even with a mask on. You can see from this why most infections are being passed on in people’s homes, at many places of work, dine-in restaurants, and gyms/sports facilities. You can also see why transmission outdoors is much lower (but not zero) risk.
 
What about kids? This remains a frustratingly controversial topic. As previously noted, there is some limited evidence that kids *under 12* become infected less than older kids or adults. Since we last updated you, there is growing evidence that if they do get infected, they transmit it to others just as well as anyone though. So while they may get it less, and while they get sick less, they nonetheless spread it just as well as anyone. Kids can wear masks though, and it would seem clearly helpful for everyone over age 2 to wear a mask whenever they are in close contact with others, indoors or outdoors. We need to turn this around somehow.
 
When will we have the vaccine?!??
It certainly feels like it can’t come soon enough. There are currently a few vaccines about to be released to the public. It appears that they are highly effective. Their safety profiles are fantastic. They have been tested on tens of thousands of people, with zero serious adverse events. Canada will have access to these, and it is expected the first doses will be delivered here within a couple of weeks. *However*…it will take a *long* time to roll them out. These will arrive in batches, with early doses dedicated to various high-risk groups. The order of release will be something along these lines:

1. Hospital workers
2. Nursing homes (staff and residents)
3. Community health workers
4. High risk patients (over 65 with chronic health conditions)
5. Those over 65 regardless of health issues
6. Adults over 18 (16 for 1 of the vaccines)

 
It is impossible for us to know, but we expect groups 1-3 above will take until at least March-April 2021. So few (if any) of you reading this will likely be getting the vaccine until at least late Spring. Hopefully many people in the community can be vaccinated during the late Spring and Summer. Vaccines for kids (current vaccines are for adults only) will probably come available right around then, and hopefully many kids can be vaccinated before school starts next Fall.
 
Some key points about the vaccines:

• Once you are vaccinated, you will STILL have to maintain public health measures *just like now*. This will be the case at least until September probably. Maybe for all of 2021. This is because the virus may continue to spread a lot until at least ~70% of the population is vaccinated. Also, the vaccines are very good, but not perfect, and we need to crush this bug completely. 
• We don’t know yet how long immunity lasts. It’s at least 3 months. It’s probably much longer, but we can’t know until enough time using the vaccine passes. By the time you get yours in a few months, we will hopefully be able to say it lasts at least 6-9 months of protection. Most vaccines last a minimum of 2 years, many (like tetanus) for 10 years, and some (like for measles) last a lifetime. We’ll have to wait and see. If immunity is not long-lasting, this could become an annual event. This will make things much more difficult.
• These are not live vaccines. So, just like the flu shot, YOU CANNOT GET COVID FROM THE SHOT. PERIOD. You can have a side effect (we’ll discuss those when the time comes), but getting sick with Covid19 is NOT one of them.
• There are around 37 million Canadians. The vaccines are all set up as 2-dose series (around 1 month apart). This means we need to distribute and complete around 52 million doses to achieve herd-immunity. That’s around 142000 doses per day for 365 days to put it in perspective. This doesn’t happen overnight. Once the vaccine is available, we will be working very hard to get it out. We learned a lot from this years outdoor flu-vaccine campaign, and are prepared to roll out a highly efficient Covid one.

 
This isn’t over yet. But we are on the cusp of turning this fight around. We are moving from defense to offence. We need everyone to work together to get there though. So please do your part. Think of those around you. Take responsibility for your actions, even if you see others fail to. Whatever you do will help, and you will have made a valuable contribution to society by being kind, smart, and safe.

North Shore Medical Group Physicians

Dear Patients,

It’s flu shot time! 

Our influenza immunizations will look a little different this year. Our priority is to provide flu shots in a safe and efficient manner.  In order to maintain the required social distancing, we are holding immunizations in the outdoor covered space behind our building 1133 Lonsdale. There will be a tent set up to ensure your privacy. The clinics will be held on Saturdays and will need to be pre-booked with an appointment. 

To Pre-book your flu shot please email your request to [email protected] ***Please ensure to include in your email your first and last name,  phone number and who your family physician is and we will contact you directly with an appointment. We are hoping to host our first clinic on Saturday Oct. 17.

***For young children (6 and under) and those who have challenges with vaccines, please book an appointment directly with your doctor. 

In B.C., the flu vaccine is provided free to the following groups of people:
People at high risk of serious illness from influenza, such as:

• Children 6 months to less than 5 years of age
• Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy during the influenza season
• Seniors 65 years and older
• Residents of any age living in residential care, assisted living or other group facilities
• Indigenous people
• Children and teenagers required to take Aspirin® or ASA for long periods of time due to a medical condition
• Children and adults with certain medical conditions, including:
  • Heart or lung disorders that require regular medical care, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cystic fibrosis
  • Kidney disease, chronic liver disease such as hepatitis, diabetes, cancer, anemia or weakened immune system
  • Those with health conditions causing difficulty breathing, swallowing or a risk of choking on food or fluids, such as people with severe brain damage, spinal cord injury, seizures or neuromuscular disorders
• Those who are very obese

People able to transmit or spread influenza to those at high risk of serious illness from influenza including:

• Household contacts of people at high risk
• Household contacts, caregivers and daycare staff of children under 5 years of age
• Doctors, nurses and others working in health care settings, including long-term care facilities, who have contact with patients
• Visitors to health care facilities and other patient care locations
• Inmates of provincial correctional institutions
• Those who provide care or service to people at high risk in potential outbreak settings such as cruise ships

Other groups who are eligible to receive the flu shot for free include:

• People who provide essential community services such as police officers, firefighters, ambulance attendants, and corrections workers
• People who work with live poultry

 
COVID QUESTIONNAIRE
 
IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS ON THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT, PLEASE EMAIL TO REBOOK YOUR FLU SHOT.
 

• FEVER
• CHILLS
• COUGH OR WORSENING OF CHRONIC COUGH
• SHORTNESS OF BREATH
• RUNNY NOSE
• LOSS OF SENSE OF SMELL OR TASTE
• NAUSEA OR VOMITING
• DIARRHEA
• HEADACHE
• MUSCLE ACHES
• FATIGUE
• LOSS OF APPETITE

 
ON THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT PLEASE: 

•Wear a mask
•Wear a loose fitting top that will allow us to give you your immunization in your upper arm
•Follow our social distancing and queuing instructions
•Be respectful of our neighbours
•Bring a smile

Thanks for all you support in helping us deliver safe flu vaccinations this year!

Kind regards,

Doctors and Staff
North Shore Medical Group