The NWT’s health authority is rolling out dates for its fall 2026 flu vaccine clinics. At the moment, they begin on October 19 in Fort Smith with Yellowknife dates starting at the end of the month.
Clinic dates are subject to change – and have moved around considerably in the past – so refer to the health authority’s website for the latest. Dates mentioned on this page are correct as of October 12.
As things stand, Ndılǫ and Dettah get clinics on October 28 and 29 respectively, then a seniors-only clinic at Yellowknife’s Baker Community Centre on October 30 is followed by a clinic at the Lakeshore Co-op on Saturday, October 31 and a young families’ clinic at the multiplex on Sunday, November 1.
More clinics are scheduled for Centre Square Mall in November.
Beyond Yellowknife and Fort Smith, information for other communities was “coming soon” as of October 12.
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Flu season is arriving early this year. In the week ending October 3, the CBC reported, 4.7 percent of influenza tests came back positive against an average of 0.6 percent at this point in 2023-25. So far, those positive tests are coming mostly in British Columbia and big cities like Toronto and Calgary.
The southern hemisphere is emerging from another flu season dominated by H3N2 – the same strain behind last November’s flu wave in Yellowknife. The first Canadian samples point to the H1N1 subtype of flu this winter, which tends to be milder than H3N2, but it’s too early to tell which will become the primary strain.
(Flu names are H-something-N-something, like H1N1 or H5N1, because the H and N refer to types of protein – hemagglutinin and neuraminidase – that help decide how each strain works.)
Reports suggest this year’s flu shot is expected to line up better than last year’s with types of flu that are circulating.
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Australia’s winter is usually considered a preview for the Canadian flu season. Data from Australia suggests the vaccine in use there proved a good match for the flu and reduced the risk of hospitalization with severe influenza by about 35 percent.
So far this year there is no specific guidance regarding how Covid-19 vaccines will be offered.
Last year, after an initial supply issue, the territory said it would make the Covid-19 vaccine available to anyone attending a flu vaccine clinic.
