HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-11-04, Page 3Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - Page 3
Province faces vaccine shortage, extends priority shots
Brett Clarkson
sun media
After three weeks of getting 722,000
H1N1 vaccines a week, Ontario this
week will only have 276,300 doses to
administer in the fight against the flu.
Dr. Arlene King, the province's chief
medical officer of health, said officials
were surprised and disappointed to
learn on Friday that reduced production
at a Quebec -based GlaxoSmithKline
plant will mean a drastically shrunken
supply this week.
"We were expecting at least what we
had received previously, which was
722,000 doses per week, so it's obvi-
ously a significantly reduced supply
from what we expected," she said.
All of those 276,300 shots are in-
tended for high-priority Ontario resi-
dents this week, officials said.
A total of 86,800 of that stockpile is
specifically for pregnant women.
The remaining 189,500 will go to
other priority residents.
In the face of the provincial short-
age, Medical Officer of Health for Hu-
ron County says H1N1 clinics in Huron
this week will continue to. be fdr prior-
ity groups only.
"We are asking people to let their fel-
low community members at high risk
to get their flu shot first. These people
can get seriously ill if they become in-
fected with H1N1 flu virus," she said.
"We appreciate the patience of healthy
Huron County residents as we wait for
more vaccine which is expected within
two weeks. People who do not fit one of
the priority groups should not expect to
receive the vaccine at these clinics."
Provincial Health Minister Deb Mat-
thews appealed to Ontarians to be pa-
tient and respect the need for priority
residents to -be vaccinated first.
"They will be able to get the H1N1
vaccine flu shot as soon as we have
more supply available," Matthews
said.
But she couldn't say when Ontario
would start receiving enough doses to
start vaccinating the general public.
"The federal minister of health has
assured me that over the coming weeks
and months, there will be enough vac-
cine for everyone who needs it and
wants it," Matthews said. "However,
exactly when we will receive that vac-
cine is not known at this time."
The Huron County Health Unit is
following Ontario's direction to offer
clinics next week only to those at high
risk.
"We risk losing ground if we start doubting ...
or taking the myths as fact. Immunization is
the only thing which will stop the pandemic
and prevent however many people from need-
lessly becoming ill."
Although health-care workers aren't
asking to see a doctor's note from pa-
tients or any hard proof that they are
priority patients, clinics across Ontario
have been turning people away who do
not meet the criteria.
bS=
6-
sri
H1 N1 Clinks .
H1N1 Clinics in Huron will continue
this week for priority group patients
only at the Jacob Memorial Building
in Clinton.
November 4, 2pm 7pm
November 6, 10am Spm
A high-priority conic vv#ie het
in Goderich at the Royal Canadian
Legion Branch 109 this Friday.
• November 6, 11 am - 2pm
Clinics available to t a genera
public are scheduled to take place in
Goderich this month at the Suncoast
Mall.
• November 16, 10am - 7pm
• November 17, 10am - 7pm
• November 18, 10am 7pm
• November 19, 10am - 7pm
• November 20, 10am - 7pm
• November 21, 10am - Spm
The six priority groups include:
• Pregnant women.
• Healthy children between six
months and five years of age.
• People under 65 with chronic
conditions.
• People living in remote or iso-
lated communities.
• Health-care workers.
• Household contacts and care pro-
viders of high-risk people who
can't be im-
munized.
The reduced
vaccination supply
was caused when
GlaxoSmithKline
switched produc-
tion to begin mak-
ing doses specifi-
cally for pregnant
women, King said.
As a result, sup-
plies across Cana-
da are reduced.
There have so
far been 31 deaths
from H1N1 in On-
tario, King said. A
total of 609 people
have been hospi-
talized with 82 of
those patients still
i hospital.
About 300 peo-
ple who on aver-
age die from the
seasonal flu a year
in Ontario, King
said.
In the past three weeks, Ontario has
received about 2.2 million doses of
vaccine. The province is expected to
get 13 million doses before Christmas,
which would be enough for everybody
in Ontario to get a shot.
-with files from the Signal -Star
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