Dr. Deena Hinshaw. (Government of Alberta)

By Chris Brown / CHAT News Today

Tuesday Update

Hinshaw urges Albertans to stay vigilant against COVID-19 heading into winter

Nov 16, 2021 | 5:04 PM

The province’s chief medical officer of health says that Albertans need to remember past waves of COVID-19 to avoid that becoming our future.

“While over the past few weeks we have begun to come down the other side of the fourth wave, we have seen before how fast things can change,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw during her Tuesday update. “I would like to remind Albertans that we must stay vigilant, especially as temperatures drop and we head into winter.”

She said that as winter sets in, more activities move indoors where the risk of COVID-19 transmission increases.

Winter also means the start of influenza season and Hinshaw said that means we can expect a rise in the number of Albertans with respiratory symptoms and other illnesses including seasonal influenza.

“With the seasonality of the virus, people moving inside and having that increased risk in indoor settings there is a risk that we could see a fifth wave,” she said. “Again, as always, we have the tools to minimize the impact that has.”

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The tools are now familiar – staying home when sick, washing hands regularly, and being vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19.

Uptake on flu immunization has been slower than last year when a record 1.1 million were immunized. This year 916,000 have been immunized against flu.

Hinshaw said there is still time to get your shot to reduce the chance of getting flu and spreading it to others. She said it can lead to severe outcomes for very young and very elderly, putting further strain on the health-care system. There have been three confirmed cases of flu so far this season and no severe outcomes thus far. Statistics are available on alberta.ca.

Hinshaw reported 321 new cases in the province in the past 24 hours.

There are now 518 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 101 of which are in ICU, and 3,201 deaths.

The province has not yet updated its online reporting site.

Hinshaw spoke briefly about the change to the Restrictions Exemption Program that came into effect Monday.

“Albertans’ vaccine record must now include th QR code in order to enter any business or venue taking part in the program. This means Alberta vaccination records without a QR code, including paper immunization records received at your vaccination appointment, will no longer be accepted.

The only exceptions are First Nations and military vaccination records, which will continue to be accepted.

The QR code record can be found on the provincial website, where it can be saved to your phone or printed off. People can also have it printed off at a participating registry office or call 811 to have it mailed.

Hinshaw also reminded people to wait at least six months after your second dose of COVID-19 vaccine before getting your third shot. She said that helps protection last as long as possible.