The number of flu vaccinations handed out so far this season is up from this time last year, Alberta Health Services said Thursday. However, the agency is still far from its target of immunizing 35 per cent of Albertans.
As of Nov. 19, AHS had administered 817,833 doses of the influenza vaccine across Alberta. Last season, 770,817 doses had been administered approximately the same number of days into the province’s flu program.
“It is good to see the momentum continuing from last week and the weeks prior,” AHS said in an email to Global News. “We need to keep this momentum going.”
READ MORE: How well did the flu shot work in Alberta in 2015-16?
The rate of lab-confirmed cases of the flu has also gone up this year compared to last. So far this year, there have been 279 lab-confirmed cases of the flu. Last season, there were 49 lab-confirmed cases of the flu approximately the same number of days into the province’s flu program.
Last year, the influenza virus hit Albertans later than it did this year.
READ MORE: Why the 2015-16 flu season got off to a slow, nearly non-existent start
So far this season, 95 Albertans have been hospitalized with the flu. There have not been any flu-related deaths in Alberta.
Alberta’s flu vaccine campaign kicked off on Oct. 24. Flu clinics are set up throughout the province, with free vaccines available to everyone over the age of six months.
READ MORE: What Canadians should expect from the 2016-17 flu season
The vaccination will also be offered at some pharmacies. Children under the age of nine must be immunized at an Alberta Health Services clinic.
Last year, more than one million doses of the flu vaccine were administered across Alberta. That represents about 27 per cent of the population.
A total of 1,698 people were hospitalized last year with lab-confirmed influenza. Sixty-two people died of the flu last year, 17 of whom were from the Edmonton area.