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Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says while it’s far from over, the province appears to be through the worst of a bad flu season.
Alberta was hit by an early and “exceptionally large” wave of influenza in December that put intense pressure on hospitals that were already under strain.
The flu surge has been driven by H3N2, a type of influenza A.
Dr. Vivien Suttorp, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said it tends to be more severe and hits the elderly, the very young and those with chronic conditions the hardest.
“Early indicators are that influenza A activity has reached its peak,” Suttorp said during a press conference in Calgary on Tuesday.
“We are now seeing test positivity rates decline, case counts are beginning to fall and the number of Albertans admitted to hospital with influenza A is starting to drop.”
According to Suttorp, hospitalizations for respiratory viruses peaked on Dec. 31.
At that point, 995 Albertans were in hospital, including 700 for influenza, 195 due to COVID-19 and 100 with RSV.
As of Tuesday, there were 706 people hospitalized, including 513 for influenza, 118 due to COVID-19 and 85 related to RSV.
She said hospital admission numbers may increase slightly as reporting is finalized, but the numbers are not expected to exceed those reported during the final week of December.
“This is welcome progress. But it does not mean the season is over or that we should let our guard down,” Suttorp said.
She noted that complications of influenza, including heart attacks and strokes, can be delayed.
Health system under pressure
Influenza B, which tends to emerge later in the season, is now on the rise.
“While these waves tend to be smaller, and associated with milder outcomes in immunized Albertans, they can still cause significant illness, especially in those who are not protected. We are watching those trends closely,” Suttorp said.
RSV activity is also increasing in the province.
This comes a bit later than usual, and Suttorp expects those numbers will continue to rise until the end of January.
“Our health system, like others across the country, has been under tremendous strain. Hospital and emergency departments remain busy with patients who are ill with respiratory viruses, along with the usual concerns we see in winter months,” Suttorp said.
Hospital capacity update expected
Physicians have been raising the alarm for weeks about overcrowding in emergency rooms and have called for the province to declare a state of emergency to address the situation.
Alberta’s Opposition NDP have been pressing the government to take additional measures.
In a statement, NDP hospital services critic Sarah Hoffman said that though the peak of the current flu outbreak “may be behind us,” the system remains “in crisis.”
“Overcrowding and long wait times for care didn’t start with respiratory viruses, and it won’t end without new actions being taken,” reads the statement.
Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones posted on social media this week that officials from his ministry, along with Acute Care Alberta, Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health, would provide an update Thursday on hospital capacity.
Meanwhile, Suttorp said 74 per cent of hospitalized flu cases have been unvaccinated and urged people to get vaccinated, wash their hands regularly and stay home if they’re sick.
Despite concerns about a mismatch between the new offshoot of H3N2 circulating and the vaccine, Suttorp said getting immunized still provides protection and helps decrease hospitalization rates and severe outcomes.
Alberta data shows 19 per cent of Albertans have been vaccinated against the flu so far this season.
