Is it too late to get the flu shot? We're answering all your influenza questions

Should you acquire a flu crack if it’s non a hone match for this year’s strains? Experts say yes

What science says about this year's flu shot

Uptick in child flu cases putting pressure on Quebec pediatric hospitals

Saskatchewan hit hard by influenza as data shows 80% unvaccinated

CHEO asking Ottawa doctors to work extra hours as flu visits surge

B.C. Centre for Disease Control reports increase in flu cases among children

Should you get a flu shot if it’s not a perfect match for this year’s strains? Experts say yes

The Alberta government updated its respiratory virus dashboard yesterday afternoon, which shows influenza is surging in the province.

The positivity rate was 34.6 per cent for the week ending Dec. 13, up from 28.5 per cent the week before.

Hospitalizations have spiked, too. The latest data shows there are 360 people in hospital, with 30 in the ICU. That represents a significant jump over the previous week when Alberta hospitals were treating 216 flu patients, with 18 in intensive care.

So far, 39 Albertans have died due to influenza this season.

At this morning's news conference, Dr. Vivien Suttorp, Alberta's new chief medical officer of health, reiterated the current flu vaccine is not an exact match for the circulating strains.

"There are three different strains in the vaccine. One of the strains has changed slightly," Suttorp said. "The vaccine is still effective, though perhaps a little bit less so for adults and seniors."

However, Suttorp highlighted that the vaccine remains highly effective against the influenza B and H1N1 influenza A strains.

"There are three strains actually circulating. If you have influenza A H3N2, you may still get influenza B or influenza A H1N1. The vaccine prevents you from getting three different influenza diseases in a season," she said.

The Alberta government provided an update on hospital capacity earlier today.

Minister of Hospitals Matt Jones said more than 330 surge-response hospital beds have been specifically designated for respiratory virus season this year, and 206 of those beds will remain permanently available year-round.

Alberta is experiencing an "unusual" flu season, according to Adriana LaGrange, minister of primary and preventative health services.

LaGrange said the mismatch between this year's vaccine and circulating flu strains means more people will likely experience illness this year.

And while influenza activity is increasing in Alberta — with confirmed cases more than doubling since late November — LaGrange said RSV and COVID-19 activity in the province is comparatively lower.

Specifically in Toronto, there's been an uptick in flu cases among children this year, with city health officials urging people to get flu vaccinations as protection.

This month, three children between the ages of five and nine died from influenza-related complications in eastern Ontario.

The "rapidly increasing" flu activity is being driven by influenza A, said Dr. Michelle Murti, Toronto's medical officer of health.

While Toronto hasn't recorded any flu-related deaths of children this season, Murti encouraged people to consider all available protection options, such as vaccines, regular hand-washing and wearing masks in crowded spaces.

"These measures are especially important to protect children and those most vulnerable in our community, especially as we gather for the holidays," she said.

Influenza activity was "very high" during the week of Dec. 7 to 13, according to Public Health Ontario's latest figures. That means there was a high percentage of influenza tests coming back positive, specifically at 33.8 per cent, for that time period province-wide.

In that week alone, there were 5,391 cases reported to the province — the highest number of weekly influenza cases recorded in the past three years.

It's the latest addition to the season's recorded cases, which total 12,887 so far.

While there have been increases among all age groups, children aged five to 11 years and adolescents 12 to 19 years old have been the hardest hit.

The provincial health organization said the H3N2 strain of influenza A has been more common this season than H1N1. It said antiviral-resistant strains have not yet been identified in Ontario.

We speak with Dr. Jesse Papenburg at Montreal Children's Hospital about the high number of kids coming into the ER and having to be hospitalized with influenza. And then we turn to Angela Rasmussen, virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organization in Saskatchewan who explains why the H3N2 influenza strain this year is causing harsher illness, and what to expect in the years to come as the US begins to taper back sharing its virus data with Canada and the rest of the world.

"It's not too late … winter is not even officially started yet, so there's still a lot of influenza to come," said Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Montreal Children's Hospital.

Papenburg explained it takes 10-14 days after receiving a shot for your body to develop protective levels of antibodies, and the vaccine contains components to fight different types of flu. He said the H3N2 strain is dominant right now, but H1N1 or influenza B could spike in the coming months.

"Getting the flu shot will give them protection against a potential influenza B outbreak that can happen later," he said.

Some scientists have warned this year's vaccine isn't a good match for the H3N2 strain, but University of Saskatchewan virologist Angela Rasmussen said there are still benefits to getting it.

"Even if the vaccine isn't a perfect match, it still does quite a lot to reduce disease severity," she said.

The low uptake of the flu vaccine in B.C. Appears to be mirrored across the country. Here's a look at the figures from some other provinces:

While seeing an increase in influenza and RSV around this time of year is expected, doctors say what's unexpected is vaccine hesitancy.

"We are seeing an increase in people who are hesitant, who might have been exposed to misinformation about vaccines," said Dr. Tom McLaughlin, a pediatrician at B.C. Women's and Children's Hospital.

As of Dec. 14, the Ministry of Health says almost 1.3 million British Columbians have been vaccinated so far this year — around 23 per cent of those eligible.

McLaughlin is urging parents to get themselves and their kids vaccinated, adding that unvaccinated children make up a higher proportion of those that are admitted to the hospital due to respiratory illness.

Parents should vaccinate their kids against RSV as cases rise, doctor says

A neonatologist at B.C. Children's Hospital says he is seeing a rise in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among kids as the weather gets colder, and a large percentage of hospitalizations are among infants. Dr. Pascal Lavoie is encouraging parents to get their kids the RSV shot if they can, saying it's been proven to reduce the severity of the disease.

Earlier this week, I spoke with Vancouver-based pediatrician Dr. Pascal Lavoie. He says influenza in particular is hitting earlier this year than it normally does.

"What's specific this year is that both RSV and flu seem to be synchronous or rising about the same time. That doesn't happen every year, but when it happens it doubles the impact on the health system during the same period," he said.

He said while it is normal to see RSV cases around this time, influenza normally spikes in the province after the holidays in January and February.

"Potentially we need to prepare for a busy winter season and advocate for children to get vaccinated and people to take precautionary measures."

That impact on children means pediatric hospitals across the country have been flooded with young patients — and medical teams warn that emergency visits and admissions could keep climbing in the weeks ahead.

At the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa, eight times more children tested positive for influenza in November compared with the same month in 2024, while double the number of children needed to be hospitalized. Most of those children hadn't had a seasonal flu vaccine, according to CHEO's emergency department.

Other children's hospitals in Ontario and Quebec are seeing similar spikes in patients and bracing for a busy stretch ahead.

Dr. Harley Eisman, medical director of pediatric emergency medicine at the Montreal Children's Hospital, said the hospital's emergency department was "pretty quiet" up until mid-November but is now seeing more than 200 patients a day.

You can read more on this here.

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