With around 29 per cent of the province vaccinated so far this flu season, getting the shot to fight influenza is a top priority for many Albertans.
The flu season typically runs from October through March (but can extend as far as May) and according to one of the medical officers of health for the Calgary Zone, Dr. Judy MacDonald, there is plenty vaccine left for those who were unable to attend a flu clinic, pharmacy or visit their family doctor in the fall.
The Calgary Zone ran out of influenza vaccines midway through the 2013-14 flu season.
“To date, 29 per cent of the Alberta population has been immunized from the start of the season and we have purchased enough vaccine to immunize 45 per cent of the population,” said MacDonald.
“It’s not too late to get vaccinated,” she said, cautioning families with young children (under five; particularly under two years), the elderly and at-risk groups, such as pregnant women, to still consider getting their flu shots.
MacDonald said they are unable to compare statistics between last season and this one, as the 2014-15 flu season is only halfway through.
MacDonald said this may be due to the resurgence of the H3N2 strain this year, whereas last year the H1N1 strain was prevalent. She said that senior populations have developed better immunity to the H1N1 strain, due to higher exposures over their lifetimes.
Both strains are classified as ‘Influenza A’; people can also contract ‘Influenza B’, which is an entirely different influenza strain from the other two. All three strains are covered by the vaccination.
To date for the 2014-15 flu season, 2,607 laboratory ‘Influenza A’ cases have been confirmed in Alberta; 731 cases are in the Calgary Zone. Eighty-nine cases of ‘Influenza B’ have been confirmed province-wide so far, of which 34 are in the Calgary Zone.
A total of 390 have been hospitalized so far, including 106 from the Calgary Zone.
Twenty-three in the province have died so far, including six from the Calgary Zone.
By comparison, 3,914 influenza cases were confirmed by laboratory during the 2013-14 season; 1,219 Albertans were hospitalized and 30 died.
MacDonald said the vaccine is still available at the Urgent Care Centre.
