Ten years ago, I took on a physician leadership position at my health authority that gave me a glimpse into the workings of its hospitals.

During a particular meeting that has remained burned into my memory, the department head for medicine was shaking his head in disbelief at having to state the obvious: “Why is it that every year, just like snow in winter, we know flu is coming, and yet every year flu catches us by surprise?”

The room fell silent.

It’s one thing not to be prepared for the unexpected. It is another thing altogether to be unprepared for the entirely predictable.

Here we go again. December is upon us and B.C. health-care leaders are about to be surprised, yet again, by influenza season.

This time B.C. public health leaders have ignored the urgent warnings of their own expert, Dr. Danuta Skowronski, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) epidemiology lead for influenza. In April, her team already was raising concerns about the circulating influenza A (H3N2) in Canada having acquired new mutations as our flu season progressed. She anticipated then that these mutations would result in the upcoming season’s flu vaccine being a poorer match, therefore less effective at preventing medical visits related to influenza.