Calgary H1N1 clinics open to all

Alberta's swine flu vaccination clinics opened to the general public on Monday, including a new location at the South Calgary Health Centre.

Anyone over the age of six months is now eligible for the vaccine, which targets the H1N1 influenza A virus that causes swine flu.

The waiting time was minimalat several of the Calgary clinics Monday morning Avenida, Brentwood Village Mall, South Calgary Health Centreand Stampede Grandstand according to CBC News reporters.

At the Stampede clinic, about 50 people waited insidebeforeitopened. Nurses handed out wristbands and expected a waiting timeof only 20 minutes.

"We have successfully implemented line management strategies, including wristbands, at all mass clinics.They have been helping us to deal with fluctuations in clinic volumes and eliminate the need for people to line up at clinics before they open," health officials said Sunday in a statement.

Alberta abruptly closed the clinics on Nov. 1 because of massive lineups and a shortage of the vaccine. When the clinics reopened a few days later, only certain groups at high risk of complications from swine flu were eligible.

Arrangements are being made "over the coming weeks" to offer the vaccine through family doctors, pharmacies and large employers, officials say.

Also Monday, temporary flu assessment clinics set up in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge closed, as the second wave of the virus waned. The clinics plus one in Medicine Hat, which closed last week treated more than 9,000 patients in less than a month.

Dr. Gerry Predy, Alberta Health Services senior medical officer of health, expects a third wave of the virus in Alberta before the flu season ends in April.

Alberta Health says more than 1,000 people have been hospitalized due to H1N1 since April, and 47 have died, most of them with underlying ailments. Seasonal flu kills between 11 and 90 Albertans every year, according to health officials.

More than 650,000 Albertans, about one-sixth of the population, have been inoculated to date.