Flu season is well underway across the province, with outbreaks affecting schools before the holiday break and some doctors already reporting strained resources amid busy waiting rooms.
Cases of the flu rose by more than double in the week of Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 when the province reported 1,537 new infections. The government counted 694 new cases the week before.
Those cases include four strains of influenza, the most prevalent one this year being H3N2.
“We know that years where we see more H3N2, we know those are tougher years … meaning there’s going to be more hospitalizations, there are going to be more cases of severe illness and people seeking care,” said infectious disease specialist Isaac Bogoch.
There have been 802 hospitalizations and 21 deaths this flu season in Alberta, government data shows.
The Calgary zone alone accounts for 436 of those hospitalizations, according to the data. Meanwhile, in Edmonton, 11 public schools so far have declared flu outbreaks ahead of winter break.
When should you go to the hospital with the flu?
One emergency doctor at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital says although case growth in the province has been “exponential,” there is no real cause for alarm among the general public and the spike in cases will most likely be “the worst it’s going to get.”
“The public has to understand that just because you have the flu, you don’t have to go running to the emergency department,” said Louis Francescutti.
“If you wake up feeling terrible, you’ve got a fever, your muscles are aching, you may even be vomiting, you have no appetite, you feel like you’ve been hit by a train, chances are good, that’s the flu and not a common cold.”
The time to go to the emergency room, he noted, would be if you’re vulnerable to complications or death: very young or very old age, diabetes, heart illness or other factors that could raise alarm.
He also noted increasing waiting room times at Edmonton hospitals, exacerbated by the deep freeze parts of the province were plunged into this week.
“It’s always a strain when you don’t have capacity, and we don’t have capacity within our health-care system … Now that we’re in the middle of the really cold season, homelessness is driving a lot,” he said.
“We need to have a greater emphasis on making sure people are housed, people are well-fed, making sure people are as healthy as possible.”
Paul Parks, an emergency medicine doctor in Medicine Hat, Alta., said he and his colleagues are seeing a “massive impact” on emergency departments and hospitals.
“I’ve been seeing patients from five weeks old to 93 years old with influenza, diagnosing them, some are very sick. Some are, thankfully, feeling really crummy and knocked off their feet, but able to go home,” he said in an interview Friday.
“It’s really important to understand that we’re really stressed in that over-capacity before getting these big respiratory spikes … that we knew were coming, but it is impacting all aspects of our care.”
In the meantime, all three doctors recommend the standbys for navigating the flu during the holiday season: rest, hydration, monitoring of symptoms, and only a trip to the emergency room if there are serious complications.
And with holiday parties around the corner, vaccinations, good hygiene and masks or distance are recommended to prevent spreading germs.
“It’s happening across the northern hemisphere, where it’s flu season. I think when we look back on this season and compare it to an average season, it’ll likely be worse compared to an average season,” Bogoch added. “But it’s still influenza. We still know what to do.”
So far the province has reported administering 857,554 flu vaccinations in 2025.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Lampa and Nicole Weisberg
