Six new flu-related deaths were reported in Alberta this past week and new numbers from Alberta Health Services (AHS) show Calgary remains the hardest-hit region in the province.
Data released by AHS on Thursday shows the number of Albertans who died due to lab-confirmed influenza has risen to 19.
WATCH BELOW: Flu hits Calgary hard for the holidays
Twelve of those deaths have been in the Calgary Zone, four have been in the Edmonton Zone, two deaths have been reported in the South Zone and there has been one death in the North Zone.
According to AHS, there have been 2,638 lab-confirmed cases of Influenza A and 717 cases of Influenza B in the province so far this flu season.
So far this season, 867 Albertans have been hospitalized with lab-confirmed influenza.
This year AHS is not offering the FluMist nasal spray. Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization no longer recommends the spray for children aged two to 17 years old. It concluded FluMist and injectable vaccines are equally safe and effective for children.
For more information on immunization clinics and schedules, click here.
Anyone aged six months and older can get immunized free of charge.
– With files from Phil Heidenreich