While the respiratory disease season may continue for several more weeks, complications related to the flu have caused the death of 152 people in Alberta since the start of the seasonal flu last November.

According to health authorities data in the Central Western Canadian province of Alberta, 12,275 confirmed flu cases have been recorded since the beginning of the season this year.

Last year, the province recorded 9,784 flu cases and 123 deaths due to acute respiratory infections caused by influenza viruses.

"The nearly 20% increase in cases and deaths this year may be a cause for alarm," says Dr. Stephanie Smith, adding: "It is worth considering the full context of the situation."

The professor of medicine at the University of Alberta explains "that if the proportion of people who died from the flu last year is compared to their proportion this year, we see that it is almost similar, at a rate of 1.2%."

The majority of flu-related deaths recorded by the province so far this season have largely been among those aged 70 and over. This age group accounts for 84 deaths, approximately 55% of the total deaths this season.

A few young people have also been severely affected by the flu this year, including two children under ten years old, who died as a result of complications from their infections.

Stephanie Smith, professor of medicine at the University of Alberta, says: "Factors such as the increased number of people wearing protective masks last year helped reduce the number of seasonal flu cases in the past."

Smith also explains that direct links can be made between the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decrease in recorded flu cases in 2020-2021.

During this period, the province witnessed the highest flu vaccination rate ever since 2010, at 37%.

Stephanie Smith adds that more health measures were taken at that time. All these factors led to a slight decrease in the transmission of influenza viruses then.

Decline in flu vaccination rate

It is noteworthy that about 24.7% of Alberta residents received the annual flu vaccine since the start of this year’s respiratory virus season, according to provincial data.

The last time the province saw such a low flu vaccination rate was during the 2012-2013 season, when the rate was 24 percent.