Flu vaccine still available as number of confirmed cases climbs

New data from the province show the number of confirmed flu cases in the city is still rising, Alberta Health Services says.

So far, six people have died from the disease this flu season and AHS says there have been 1,485 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A, up from 1,241 confirmed cases last month.

No new flu-related deaths have been reported in December, but the number of flu-ridden Calgarians continues to eclipse other parts of the province.

According to numbers released by AHS, just over 56 per cent of the province’s 2,619 confirmed cases have been in Calgary, dwarfing the 375 confirmed cases in Edmonton.

Calgarians also made up 65 per cent of the 531 Albertans admitted to hospital with the flu this season.

Dr. Jia Hu, medical officer of health for the Calgary zone, said people who die of flu typically also have other illnesses. Hu stressed the importance of getting a flu shot early in the year before the flu begins to spread, but vaccines are still available, with enough stockpiled to treat around 35 per cent of Alberta’s population.

“Flu is in Calgary and everyone should be immunized,” Hu said.

Ninety-two people died from flurelated illness during last year’s flu season, with 32 of those in the Calgary area.

More than a million doses of the flu vaccine have been administered by AHS Public Health and pharmacists this season, including 438,174 in the Calgary region.

Influenza immunizations are available free of charge to all Albertans six months of age and older through AHS clinics, pharmacies and physicians.

To find out where you can get immunized, visit www.albertahealthservices.ca/influenza.