Flu vaccination in Alberta long-term care facilities

Paddy Quail expresses concern that the period of the study was not provided; however, this was clearly stated in the article.¹ He is also concerned that the data presented for Alberta are not a fair representation of the current situation in Calgary. The paper described the situation for the entire province at the time of the study, and the aggregated Alberta data included information provided by Calgary long-term care facilities for the period 1998–1999. A summary of the study findings and recommendations was sent to every medical officer of health in Alberta immediately after the study was completed.

I congratulate the Calgary Health Region on the excellent progress made in vaccinating the staff of Calgary long-term care facilities since that time.

Signature

Margaret Russell
Associate Professor Department of Community Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine University of Calgary Calgary, Alta.