With only a quarter of Albertans getting themselves vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, health officials are concerned the residents of the province may be getting far too complacent about it.

Even though, Monday saw mass vaccination clinics re-opening to the public, the line-ups for the flu shots had subsided, in comparison to the overwhelming demand at the programme’s start late October.

While, health officials would like to see 70% of the population vaccinated against the virus, only 850,000 or 23% of Albertans have been inoculated.

Dr. Glen Armstrong, Head of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Department at the University of Calgary believes, thinking the flu season is almost over has lulled people into a false sense of complacency.

Armstrong expects a third wave of H1N1 to hit in February or March, saying a sufficient number of people should be vaccinated to prevent spreading the flu, but since that is not the case, he urges Albertans to get their H1N1 shots while lines are still manageable, rather than waiting till clinics are overwhelmed when the third wave hits.

Clinics will begin offering the seasonal flu vaccine to Albertans over 6-months old starting Monday, in addition to the H1N1 vaccine.

Starting next week, the province will also begin distributing the vaccine to physicians, with mass clinics remaining open till end-December.

Due to Grey Cup festivities, the University of Calgary’s H1N1 clinic on the 4th floor of MacEwan Hall will be closed this Saturday and Sunday, reopening Monday at 8:30 a. m. Go to the Alberta Health Services’ website to check for the more updated information.

Officials will continue to run advertisements for encouraging people to get vaccinated.