AB flu cases and immunizations numbers down
Posted Dec 21, 2015 1:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Flu cases are down in Alberta compared to last year, but so are immunizations.
So far in the 2015-16 season, as of the second week of this month, there were only 77 confirmed cases and just 23 hospitalizations.
AHS Medical Officer of Health for the Calgary Zone, Dr. Jason Cajab, said about 400,000 people in Calgary have gotten flu shots, with the number for Alberta overall around one million.
“The number of doses that have been given so far this year is a little bit lower than last year and that’s probably expected because people aren’t hearing as much about influenza and they aren’t seeing it as much,” Cabaj said.
Cabaj said the goal by the end of the year is to have 40 per cent of the overall population to be immunized, adding it’s difficult to pinpoint a reason as to why some years are slower than others.
“This year is similar to previous years and in some cases those years, we’ve seen more influenza activity pick up later in the season and it’s been quite a busy year and in other cases, it’s been a slower year,” he said.
Last year was one of the worst flu years on record, hospitalizing thousands and killing around 100 people.
“Every season evolves in a different way and we don’t know at this point whether it’s going to be a slow season or whether it will just start later or whether this will be in fact a fairly severe season, at this point it’s just too early to say,” Cabaj said.
