If people are looking to get their annual flu shots, Alberta Health Services has announced clinics will be open in Grande Prairie starting the week of October 21st.
AHS North Zone Lead Medical Officer Dr. Albert de Villiers says he hopes people take the responsibility of protecting themselves and their families a top priority this winter.
“Influenza is still a serious disease and immunization is one thing that works,” he says.
“If you got the vaccine, it protected 70 to 75 percent of the time, if you get the vaccine, you’ve got a 100 percent chance of getting influenza. It’s not 100 percent like other vaccines, but it gives you pretty good protection.”
Dr. de Villiers says he understands that anti-vaccination groups are floating around social media debating the pros and cons of vaccinations but urges people in the area to not risk getting sick, or potentially compromising the immune system of others because of arguments on the internet.
“There are some people who are completely against all kinds of vaccines, and sometimes it’s better not to argue because the internet is their doctor, and they believe different things,” he says
“Just go try it for one year, because the myth that influenza vaccine gives you the disease it is not possible, because it’s just a dead virus.”
1,976 people were hospitalized, and 52 people were killed by lab-confirmed influenza cases in Alberta hospitals last year.
To find your nearest clinic, head to the Alberta Health Services website.