EDMONTON – Immunization clinics reopened across Alberta Friday morning to deal with a surge of flu cases. In Edmonton, the Bonnie Doon Health Centre and Northgate Health Centre were open to the public.
“We have entered a very critical period in Alberta,” Health Minister Fred Horne said. “Over the last couple of weeks we’ve seen a very large escalation in the number of flu cases in the province.”
Horne says the increase is very concerning.
“I am concerned from a number of standpoints. First and foremost, we are beginning to see increasing strain on the health care system that has the potential to escalate.”
READ MORE: Health officials issue warning about severity of flu outbreak
As of Thursday, Alberta Health Services (AHS) said there have been five reported deaths in Alberta as a result of influenza and 965 lab-confirmed cases of the flu province-wide, 920 of which were the H1N1 form of the virus.
“We also know that today there are over 270 people in this province who’ve been hospitalized for influenza, many of them with the H1N1 strain, which is the dominant strain this year,” Horne added.
The H1N1 strain is attacking primarily adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
READ MORE: Edmonton man’s wife in intensive care battling H1N1
- 3 women diagnosed with HIV after ‘vampire facials’ at unlicensed U.S. spa
- Solar eclipse eye damage: More than 160 cases reported in Ontario, Quebec
- ‘Super lice’ are becoming more resistant to chemical shampoos. What to use instead
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
And the worst is yet to come, according to Horne, who added influenza is expected to peak in mid-February.
As a result, health care professionals are also warning the outbreak could spread further, with children heading back to class next week.
“When the kids get back to school, we will be monitoring disease rates in schools very closely and taking action as needed,” said Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health with AHS.
Local school boards say they already have plans in place to deal with the issue.
“We’re going to send a reminder out to our schools about having that information up… If you have some flu like symptoms, please don’t enter the school,” said Jane Sterling, a spokesperson with the Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB). “And we’re going to just remind them about the hand washing and sneezing etiquette.”
“It’s really important that all students know how to prevent getting the flu, but also if they get the flu that we would encourage parents to keep their children at home, because we don’t want to spread it to any other children,” added Lori Nagy, a spokesperson with Edmonton Catholic Schools.
READ MORE: Young parents fastest growing demographic to embrace flu shots: poll
Horne says about 21 per cent of Albertans have been vaccinated. In Edmonton Friday, immunization clinics were lined up, as Horne strongly encouraged all Albertans to get vaccinated.
“Unnecessary hospital admissions – well, they’re necessary – but they’re in many cases a result of people not being immunized or coming into contact with people who are not immunized.”
Horne also called on health care workers to get their flu shots. According to the Health Minister, 49 per cent of health care workers had received their flu shots as of Friday morning.
“We, again, need to do much, much better with this. We should see a close to 100 per cent vaccination rate among all health care workers in the province.
“Health care is especially important because these are small environments where it’s easy and, actually, any opportunity exists for influenza to be passed from a staff member to a patient or vice versa.”
As of next week, Horne says AHS will begin publishing the immunization rates among health care workers, by location, across Alberta.
“This will allow us to track, in a very transparent way, where the issues are,” Horne explained.
WATCH: Health Minister Fred Horne on the flu situation in Alberta
If you’ve previously been vaccinated against H1N1, it will not protect you this year; the shot it only be effective for one season.
Children under the age of nine are not able to receive the vaccine at pharmacies.
For a complete list of clinic locations across the province, visit Alberta Health Services’ website.
Edmonton’s additional immunization clinic locations are as follows:
Bonnie Doon Health Centre, 8314 88 Avenue N.W.
Fri, January 3, 2014 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (Drop In)
Fri, January 10, 2014 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Drop In)
Northgate Health Centre, 9499 137 Avenue N.W.
Fri, January 3, 2014 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Drop In)
Tues, January 7, 2014 12:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (Drop In)
Fri, January 10, 2014 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Drop In)
Sun, January 5, 2014 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Drop In)
West Jasper Place Health Centre, 9720 – 182 Street NW, T5T 3T9
Tues, January 7, 2014 12.30 p.m – 8:00 p.m. (Drop In)
Calgary’s additional immunization clinic locations are as follows:
Brentwood Village Mall, 3630 Brentwood Road, N.W.
Thu, January 2, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Fri, January 3, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Sat, January 4, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Tue, January 7, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Wed, January 8, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
South Calgary Health Centre, 31 Sunpark Plaza, S.E.
Thu, January 02, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Fri, January 03, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Sat, January 04, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Tue, January 07, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
Wed, January 08, 2014 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM (Drop In)
With files from The Canadian Press.
Comments