Canada's flu season is not yet at its peak, and already vaccine supplies are dwindling in some provinces.
By the weekend, provincial health officials say Alberta will have run out of flu shots, Saskatchewan will be down to its last vials, supplies may be tapped in B.C., and the Northwest Territories is saving its remaining supply for high-risk patients.
The federal government has secured an additional half-million flu shots it could purchase to meet the growing need, but the country could still run out of vaccine if demand in Central and Eastern Canada spikes the way it did in the West.
Dr. Gregory Taylor, deputy head of the Public Health Agency of Canada, told the Canadian Press that Ontario and Quebec have offered to loan vaccines to the Western provinces until the next batches can be delivered.
N.S. also has more than enough flu shots, and has given 10,000 doses to help meet the demand out west.
Though there may not be enough vaccines to go around, "any amount of increased immunity is better than no immunity at all," University of Calgary professor Dr. Glen Armstrong told 麻豆影视.
The most recent FluWatch report shows the number of flu cases in Week One of the latest monitoring cycle (Dec. 29, 2013 to Jan. 4, 2014) is nearly double the number reported the week prior, suggesting flu season hasn't reached its peak yet.
The report found that most patients with flu symptoms have H1N1, which the helps protect against.
The extra flu shot doses coming in are ear-marked for those with the highest risk of contracting the H1N1 strain. "We have made a decision to focus our immunization effort to children under five, pregnant women and those women who are in the post-partum period," Saskatchewan's Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer Denise Werker told 麻豆影视.
However, the report found that H1N1 seems to be presenting in adults aged 20 to 64 this season, a change from the 2012-13 flu season when H3N2 was dominant, and elderly people and children were targets.
The most common symptoms of H1N1 are:
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Body aches
- Head aches
- Chills
- No appetite
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
- Runny nose
With files from the Canadian Press and 麻豆影视' Janet Dirks
