Alberta considers measures to keep flu lines down
Last Updated: Thursday, November 19, 2009 | 4:49 PM MT
CBC News
Alberta health officials are considering ways to manage lineups when flu vaccination clinics open to all Albertans next week.
"We will give people wristbands and ... we'll give them a specific time to come back," the senior medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services, Dr. Gerry Predy, said Thursday.
"I think when they come back, they come back to the front of the line. So that's worked in some of the busy days when we've used it and we will use that if necessary."
On Thursday, seniors 65 and over as of Nov. 1, and their spouses or partners of any age were allowed to start getting the H1N1 vaccine. The clinics will be open to children under 18, their immediate family and their caregivers starting Friday.
National vaccine supply shortages seem to have been resolved, allowing the province to broaden the program, Corriveau said. Alberta will soon have half a million doses on hand, which will allow the province to open vaccinations to the general public.
"We're going to gauge it based on the demand over the weekend, whether it's Monday or Tuesday," said Alberta's chief medical officer of health Dr. André Corriveau.
About 570,000 people have been vaccinated in Alberta since the program started on Oct. 26.
Two more H1N1 deaths
The province announced two more deaths due to swine flu: an elderly man in Calgary and an adult female in Edmonton. Both had underlying medical conditions. This brings the total of H1N1 deaths in Alberta to 45 since the province started tracking the numbers in April.
The incidence of H1N1 cases in Alberta appears to be waning, Predy said.
"It appears that the second wave is easing off, and that we will see it, I think, improve over the next probably couple of weeks."
The number of H1N1 cases now account for a quarter of the patients in the province's intensive care beds, down from a third.
However, people should still get their vaccinations: Both officials noted there could be a "third wave" of the pandemic later in the winter.
