Like it or not, flu season is rapidly approaching and health officials are preparing for a particularly hard one.
While the typical flu season runs from November to March in Canada, the majority of early influenza cases in September were from the H3N2 virus, a strain which is historically linked to difficult flu seasons.
Officials are also looking at Australia, where more people fell ill, nearly three times as many as the year before, and the predominant strain was H3N2.
Now Health Minister Gaetan Barrette is looking at ways to make it easier for you to get a flu shot.
"Previously at the point of service, people were able to pay for vaccines. I'm contemplating as we speak a return on that," Barrette told CTV Montreal.
When doctors in the province were barred from charging patients extra fees, many stopped selling the vaccinations in their offices.
Instead Quebecers could purchase the vaccination at a pharmacy, the go back to their doctor or visit a CLSC to have it injected.
Barrette said the alternative did not make any sense.
"First of all it's less practical because they have to go from one place to the other, and at the other place where they go buy the vaccine it's costlier than it was before at the point of service."
The Health Minister added that overall public opinion on auxiliary fees has changed, with more people now wanting the option of paying their doctor for some procedures not covered by RAMQ.
Barrette added in the near future he would adjust the current regulations to allow doctors to do just that.