Albertans urged to get flu shots
Long queues for vaccines in Strathmore
Long lineups for influenza vaccines were reported at pharmacies in Strathmore after a flu outbreak in the town’s hospital.
Health Minister Fred Horne appealed Friday for all Albertans to get vaccinated and directed the province’s health authority to publicly report the immunization rates for staff at health care facilities.
Influenza has broken out at a handful of facilities across the province, including one that forced AHS to close a unit at Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton to new patients.
An outbreak was also declared at the Strathmore Hospital on Jan. 1 by the Calgary Zone Medical Officer of Health, after confirmation of two cases of influenza illness in the hospital.
An influenza outbreak in a care facility is declared when two cases of lab-confirmed influenza onset within 48 hours of each other.
Pharmacies in Strathmore reported long lineups of citizens seeking the flu shot on Friday, with one manager worried about running low on vaccines.
“The pharmacy has been busy, that’s for sure,” said Herbert Au Yeung, pharmacy manager at the Shoppers Drug Mart in Strathmore.
Au Yeung was trying to order more flu vaccines after a stream of people seeking protection from the flu at the pharmacy on Thursday and Friday had drained supplies.
This season’s flu shot protects against the H1N1 strain, which can affect people aged 20 to 50 more harshly than seniors and children.
The sudden surge of H1N1 flu cases has led to an increase in Alberta hospital admissions and busier emer- gency departments and intensive care units. Some elective surgeries have been postponed.
“We have the makings of a great strain on our health-care system and we’re only about halfway through flu season,” Horne said on Friday.
The rates of immunization among health care workers in the province is a concern, because they are in close contact with the ill or elderly and can easily spread the virus, Horne said.
So far this flu season only 21 per cent of Albertans and 49 per cent of health care workers have been immunized.
“It is absolutely critical in the very, very short term that we see a much greater rate of immunization among health care workers in the province,” he said.
To identify where the lowest rates of immunization are, Horne directed AHS to publicly report the rates among staff in health care facilities across the province.
The most recent AHS statistics show there were 965 cases of flu confirmed in Alberta as of January 1, a 50 per cent jump from the previous week. Of 357 influenza cases reported in Calgary, 345 are the H1N1 strain. There have been five deaths in Alberta related to H1N1, including two in Calgary.
Teens and adults can get free flu shots at most pharmacies across the province, but only some public clinics are providing immunization for children under the age of nine.
In Calgary, children can get flu shots at two locations — Brentwood Village Mall and South Calgary Health Centre. Both clinics are scheduled to open on Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
AHS will continue to monitor demand at mass immunization clinic, but no additional Calgary locations or hours will be added, said spokesman Bruce Conway.
“At this point, demand is being met,” Conway said on Friday.