As cold and flu season begins to ramp up in Alberta, physicians are concerned about high patient influx to emergency rooms, paired with low vaccine intake.

According to the latest data from the province , on the week of Oct. 5 Alberta reported 42 influenza cases, 16 RSV cases and 146 COVID-19 cases — all lab-confirmed.

Dr. Brian Wirzba, Alberta Medical Association president and an internal medicine doctor, said every year the province sees seasonal cases when it comes to cold and flu. What he says has changed year-to-year is the healthcare system does not have the means to accommodate those yearly surges.

“We don’t actually see the recovery at the end of the traditional flu season and so we go through the remainder of the year — all summer, with emergency rooms still very full,” Wirzb

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