In this file photo from October 2019, Amanda Barron puts a comforting arm around her two-year-old son Owen Schlachter while he is given an influenza vaccine shot.--FILE PHOTO
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
The provincial government has enough influenza vaccine for 45 per cent of the population in addition to the doses for seniors that the federal government is providing.
The Alberta government has ordered 1.96 million doses of influenza vaccine and the federal government is providing another 28,000 doses of Fluzone for long term care residents, says a spokesperson for Alberta Health. The high dose vaccine (Fluzone High-Dose) is for residents of provincially funded long term care beds, who are more than 65 years old.
That number is estimated to be about 28,000 residents, said the spokesperson. It contains four times the antigen available in the standard dose of the influenza vaccine to provide additional protection.
Due to COVID-19 there will be no Alberta Health Services (AHS) drop-in flu clinics.
Those with young children are eligible to receive influenza immunization through AHS and are required to book an appointment using the online booking tool.
In addition to that pharmacists will offer vaccine to all Albertans more than five years old. Doctors will provide to those more than nine years old but some physicians may offer vaccine to children from six months of age. You need to ask your doctor’s office.
Last flu season Alberta ordered enough vaccine for 35 per cent of the population at a cost of $12.5 million. By May 7 almost 33 per cent of the population had been immunized.
In the 2018/2019 influenza season Alberta ordered 1.6 million doses of the vaccine at a cost of $12.6 to immunize 35 per cent of the population. AHS says 30 per cent of the population was immunized.
In the 2017/2018 flu season the government ordered 1.6 million doses at a cost of $12.1 million to immunize 35 per cent of the population. AHS later confirmed that 31 per cent of the population had been immunized which was an increase over the previous season when 29 per cent were immunized and the year before that 27 per cent.
Influenza numbers of those hospitalized with lab confirmed flu and deaths:
Year *Hospital Alta. S. Zone Deaths Alta S. Zone
2018 2879 186 88 7
2019 1391 74 30** (52) 1
2020 1534 97 39** (41) 6
* Note that the hospitalizations are reported cumulatively throughout the flu season.
** Alberta Health announced this week that the final number of deaths from lab confirmed flu was 41 in 2020 and 52 in 2019.
In the case of COVID-19, hospitalizations are reported for each day and are not cumulative. Deaths are cumulative and are recorded as a COVID death if the patient was positive for COVID at the time of death even if the person did not die of COVID symptoms. COVID deaths for the whole province is about 292, and in the south zone 27. Alberta Health reports a death rate of 1.3 per cent across the province.
Death from lab confirmed influenza in the 2019/2020 season was 41, out of 8470 lab confirmed cases, equating to a death rate of 0.48 per cent.
