Vaccine shortages have ended, so H1N1 flu shots will be offered to all Albertans starting Monday. The Lethbridge clinics will open from 1 to 7 p.m. Monday, officials say, and they’ll continue with afternoon hours through Friday. One-day clinics will also be held throughout the week in Fort Macleod, Taber, Picture Butte, Claresholm, Cardston, Pincher Creek and Raymond. At the same time, health officials said Friday the number of new flu cases has dropped significantly so daily assessment clinics in Lethbridge and Calgary will shut down effective Monday, 9 p.m. until further notice. “The volume (of patients) has dropped off quite drastically,” reported Dr. Gerry Predy, Alberta Health Services’ senior medical officer of health. “We’re prepared to re-open them if it’s required.” Lineups at immunization clinics have also shortened, officials added. Several hundred were on hand when the Lethbridge clinic opened Friday afternoon, but lines were moving steadily. “We have a good supply of vaccine,” Dr. Andre Corriveau, the province’s chief medical office of health, told a province-wide press conference Friday. That will allow Albertans who aren’t in higher-risk groups to be immunized over coming weeks. But there’s no need for everyone to turn up Monday or Tuesday, he said. “There’s no hurry,” he stressed. “We do have a lot of vaccine now.” Once health officials see how many people turn up at next week’s clinics, said Corriveau, they’ll decide how to expand the vaccine’s distribution. Post-secondary campuses, pharmacies and doctors’ offices could be next, he said. Employers might also be able to book in-house clinics, as they have with seasonal flu shots in previous years. “There will be a lot more opportunities for people to receive the vaccine.”
