Alta. premier doubles down on vaccine advice as respiratory illness increases
CTV
Alberta's hospitals are dealing with a massive uptick in respiratory illnesses, and there's worry in the healthcare system that low vaccination uptake, government messaging and busy holiday get-togethers will make things much worse.
Alberta's hospitals are dealing with a massive uptick in respiratory illnesses, and there's worry in the healthcare system that low vaccination uptake, government messaging and busy holiday get-togethers will make things much worse.
Influenza is driving a lot of concern.
The flu has already taken the lives of 44 Albertans, and hundreds of others – many of them young people – have been forced into crowded medical facilities.
"Our hospitals are overflowing with sick people with all respiratory viruses, but influenza is one of the worst right now," Dr. Paul Parks said.
"We're seeing adults that are maybe going to need heart transplants. We're seeing two-year-olds out there that are getting influenza and having an infection of the brain that may be life-threatening."
You can trace a direct line from those horror stories to the province's lowest influenza vaccination rate in more than a decade.
Less than 23 per cent of Albertans have their flu shot. And there's even less interest in the latest COVID-19 vaccine – only 15.5 per cent of people have received it since September's launch.
