Too early to tell what Alberta's flu season will be like, impact on hospitals: Hinshaw

A father tends to his sick son. (Getty Images)

CALGARY -

Though Alberta didn't record a single flu case last season, the province's top doctor says it's too soon to tell if we can expect low cases counts this year as well.

Alberta's most recent data, from Oct. 23, shows already the province has three lab-confirmed influenza cases. All three of the cases are Influenza A – one in the Calgary zone and two in the Edmonton zone.

"It's really difficult to predict what will happen this year with influenza," said Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw on Thursday. "We'll have to watch closely as the season unfolds."

"We know that the measures that we used last year against COVID-19 worked extremely well against influenza. We tested more influenza samples than we ever have before, and yet had absolutely no seasonal influenza in the province detected."

Hinshaw said health measures in place to protect against the spread of COVID-19 will continue to help mitigate the spread of the flu.

"The same kinds of things that we're advising for COVID-19 – staying home when sick, washing hands regularly – those things will also help prevent influenza spread."

However, Hinshaw said to keep influenza rates low, people also need to get their flu shot.

As of Oct. 23, provincial data shows 289,990 people throughout the province have received a flu shot, including 114,458 in the Calgary zone and 110,336 in the Edmonton zone.

"If there are significant transmission events, there could be significant consequences, and cases that have an additional impact on the acute care system, but if we all continue to follow these preventative measures, we can protect each other not just from COVID-19 but from influenza."

Below, Alberta's influenza statistics from Oct. 23, 2021:

Alberta's flu statistics from Oct. 23, 2021. (Government of Alberta)

Between Sept. 27, 2020 and April 3, 2021, Alberta administered 1,619,310 doses of influenza vaccine, and recorded no laboratory confirmed cases.