Immunizations up, influenza infection and hospitalization rates in South Health Zone down significantly

Calgary has so far seen 9 deaths, Edmonton 7, The Central Health Zone 9, and the North Zone 2.

There have also been nearly 2,000 hospitalizations infections and nearly 500 hospitalizations in Calgary, 629 infections and 145 hospitalizations in the Central zone, almost 1,000 infections and 300 hospitalizations in Edmonton and more than 1,100 infections and more than 170 hospitalizations in the north zone.

Suttorp says one of the interesting things this year is that there have not been any outbreaks in continuing care facilities here.

“So, any seniors facility or in our hospitals, which speaks to immunization rates in seniors; the fact is that this Influenza A does impact seniors, but not as greatly as it does younger individuals.

“Where we see a lot of numbers in previous years, is when we have sort of outbreaks. So, if we have an outbreak in a senior’s facility it’s common for – even if you put a lot of infection controls in place – there may be a lot of individuals who get it because they’re together in a communal environment. The fact that we have not had any outbreaks, and we have very good immunization rates in our seniors and the vaccine is very effective, we haven’t seen those outbreaks.”

She adds that of those people who have been hospitalized across the province, 80 percent were not vaccinated. Most of them were also under the age of 65, and many have also been children who have no immunity to the H1N1 virus.

“We’re seeing more serious disease in young people where our immunization rates are lowest,” Suttorp explains.

This year’s vaccine is more than 70 percent effective. Compared with 2017/18 and 2013 when vaccines were not as good a match.

So, why is this year’s vaccine so much more effective so far than last years?

“Annually the World Health Organization (WHO) projects by looking at all the surveillance data, which strains to include in the Northern Hemisphere vaccine and the Southern Hemisphere vaccine. When it’s an Influenza A-H3N2 predominant year like last year and the year before, that specific virus changes way quicker and so even over that 6 months of flu season, that virus sort of changes already, so that the vaccine is less effective, as compared to H1N1. It doesn’t change as quickly.”

So that means for those who got the H1N1 flu shot in 2009, they may have some immunity still from this year’s H1N1 virus, because it’s similar.

Suttorp cautions though, that boosters are needed, because there are other strains that are also contained in this year’s vaccine, including Influenza B, which can also become more prevalent.

“When we have a peak of an Influenza A, like we did sort of peak in early January, it’s not atypical that we have a ‘second wave’ of a different influenza strain in one of the Influenza B strains. So, we can’t be off our guard.”

by Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Immunizations up, influenza infection and hospitalization rates in South Health Zone down significantly

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