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Alberta has reported the province's first flu-related death of this year's flu season. last year's season was the deadliest in more than a decade.
provinces respiratory virus dashboard shows that a man aged 60 living in the central zone died of influenza.
During the 2024-25 flu season, 237 Albertans died from the flu and more than 3,700 people were hospitalized.
The timing of this year's first flu death is consistent with what health officials might have seen in other years, said Dr. James Talbot, Alberta's former chief medical officer of health.
“We're really at the beginning of flu season,” Talbot said.
More than 100 people in Alberta have been hospitalized with the flu this season, with eight patients in the intensive care unit.
Some countries have already reported an early start to the flu season with an increase in the number of cases, such as the UK, where The National Health Service has warned at the end of October there were three times more cases than at the same time the previous year.
Countries in the Southern Hemisphere are facing a more severe flu season, which Talbot said could also happen in Canada, where he expects a significant flu season that will strain the health care system.
“In Alberta, our hospitals and emergency departments are operating at about 100 per cent at all times,” Talbot said. “And that means it doesn’t take many cases of respiratory illness, including influenza and COVID, to put emergency departments and hospitals in general under a lot of stress.”
The flu shot may not match the strain
It comes as some infectious disease experts warn of a potentially severe flu season due to evolving H3N2 strain this may not be the composition of this year's flu vaccine.
Sometimes this can happen, says Dr. Joanne Robinson, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Stollery Children's Hospital.
Because vaccines are developed months in advance, in some years they may not be a perfect match for the strains that end up circulating, she said.
But she still recommends getting a flu shot.
“It's still worth getting the vaccine because we think that while the answer may not be perfect, you'll still be a little less likely to get the flu and less likely to get severe illness,” Robinson said.
These severe effects are more common among older adults or people with underlying health conditions, but those aren't the only groups that should get vaccinated, Robinson said.
“The flu is one of those terrible diseases where you have a cold but you feel like you've been run over by a truck,” Robinson said. “So it's certainly worth doing everything we can to prevent this.”
According to the province, nearly half a million Albertans have rolled up their sleeves to get a flu shot this season, representing more than 10 per cent of the province's population.
That's about half of overall flu vaccine uptake last year, which was the lowest since the 2009-2010 season.
Alberta's current flu positivity rate is higher than the national average: more than three per cent in Alberta compared to just under two per cent nationally. reported in federal data Friday..
Robinson says this doesn't necessarily mean Alberta is seeing more cases, but it could be that more people with flu symptoms are being tested for the flu.
Covid-19 cases this season
COVID-19 remains a bigger problem when it comes to respiratory viruses because of the higher risks of hospitalization and death associated with it, Dr. Talbot said.
Provincial data shows there have been 36 COVID-19 deaths so far this season, with two of them occurring in the last week from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1.
This year, the province is charging most Albertans for the COVID-19 vaccine, with the exception of health-care workers, long-term care home residents, the homeless and those who are immunocompromised or have underlying health conditions.
For those who don't fall into these categories, the photo costs $100.
Still, despite the added price this year, Talbot calls it a “bargain” compared to the protection the vaccine can provide and recommends that shot as well as the flu vaccine.
“Can you afford to take a couple of days off?” – said Talbot. “Do you want to take a risk while on vacation? If the answer to that question is no… then get vaccinated now so that by the time you are exposed to the virus, you will be immune.”
