Albertans urged to get flu shot, be diligent with COVID guidelines

Government orders record-setting number of influenza vaccine doses

Albertans can do their part to stay healthy by getting the seasonal flu shot and continuing to follow public health guidelines like wearing masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19, says the region's medical officer of health.

The Alberta government has ordered a record-setting 1.96 million doses of the influenza vaccine, enough to cover roughly 45 per cent of the population. The shot is available for free by appointment at pharmacies, doctors' offices and through Alberta Health Services (AHS) for those under five years of age and those in households.

The start of flu season arrives just as the province set a record on Friday for the highest daily COVID-19 case count, which brought the total to 3,651.

The Edmonton region counted 1,751 active cases, while the City of Edmonton 1,452 cases or 142.2 per 100,000 people.

The province doesn't provide updates over the weekend.

Edmonton Zone's medical officer of health Dr. Chris Sikora said this flu season could put further strain on the health-care system, which is why it's important for people to be vaccinated.

“Anything that all of us can do to help keep ourselves healthy and ultimately, help keep the population as healthy as possible (and reduce) the spread of influenza ... enables our system to have as much capacity as it can to manage COVID-19 issues,” he said.

“(The vaccine) helps reduce strain in our hospitals, helps reduce strain in intensive care units, helps prevent transmission and outbreaks from happening. That's something especially important in this COVID-19 time period.”

Sikora said there are similarities between the seasonal flu and COVID-19 in that they are both viruses and spread in similar ways such as through coughing, sneezing, touching eyes, mouth or nose with contaminated fingers. However, he said the two are also very different, especially when comparing mortality rates.

During the 2019-20 flu season in Alberta, there were 41 deaths in hospitals related to influenza. From 2016 to 2020, there were 239 deaths. On Friday, the Alberta government reported four new deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 300.

“(COVID-19) is a very serious illness,” Sikora said.

“It's something that our entire population in the world has not seen before. There is no vaccine available for COVID-19. Therefore, we have to have public health measures in place, which is what we've had over the last seven or eight months to help prevent the spread and keep ourselves as healthy as possible.”

(The vaccine) helps reduce strain in our hospitals ... helps prevent transmission and outbreaks.