Albertans swarm flu clinics on final day, face long waits

Calgarianslooking to get their flu shots Friday swarmed two public clinics on the final day the vaccination was offered.

Thousands of people faced waits of up to three hours in hopes of getting the shot.

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Alberta Health Services closed the clinicsFriday night.

"As of today at 6:30 p.m. all influenza immunization clinics have closed in Calgary Zone, and willnot be reopening this season," the organization wrote in a news release.

In Edmonton, clinics closed at 4:30 p.m. MT.

Pharmacies across the province sawtheir supplies dry up over the last week due to surging demand and a push from Fred Horne, Alberta's health minister.

The province cited distribution problems for the lack of vaccine available at pharmacies, but not everyone is surprised by the shortfall in demand.

"What has surprised me, actually, is perhaps that there hasn't been more of atargeting because there never, ever is enough flu vaccine in the world to immunize every single person," said Donna Wilson, a professor of nursing at the University of Alberta.

The Friday closure leftmany with concerns about how to get their flu shot.

One person even tweetedabout driving to Black Diamond to get immunized.

More than 1,500 cases of the flu have been diagnosed in Alberta and there have been eight confirmed deaths attributable to the H1N1 flu virus this season.