Flu clinics across the country are facing the prospect of a shortage of the H1N1 pandemic vaccine over the next couple of weeks as Canadians heed the advice of public health officials and line up to get inoculated.
A second wave of the virus, which has killed two children in recent days, has prompted Canadians to queue for hours at flu clinics.
The demand is encouraging to public health officials but it is also causing them to worry that they cannot keep pace as the initial shipments roll in.
The Globe on H1N1
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Although Canada ordered 50 million doses of vaccine, only six million will be shipped to provinces and territories by the end of the week. Communities in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario are concerned overwhelming early demand will outstrip supply.
In Winnipeg, where more than 30,000 residents have been vaccinated, the health authority's president said yesterday that lineups are not fading and the vaccine supply promised for next week “may be a little shy.”
“At the rate we're going, if this continues next week, that probably wouldn't be quite enough,” said Brian Postl of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
Roland Guasparini, Chief Medical Officer of British Columbia's Fraser region, said clinics are just keeping pace.
“We're a victim of our own success,” Dr. Guasparini said. “The majority of people are starting to realize that this is a very effective and safe vaccine.”
Richard Schabas, Medical Officer of Health for Ontario's Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, said that unless he gets another shipment within the next few days, he won't be able to run clinics on the weekend. “It all depends on the flow of vaccine,” he said. “Ontario's getting a million doses a week. That's not a lot of vaccine.”
The country, which embarked on an unprecedented vaccination program this week, has opted for a phased-in vaccination approach: Health-care workers and groups that are more likely to develop complications, such as adults with chronic health conditions, pregnant women and those living in remote communities, are first in line. Healthy Canadians are being asked to hold back until priority groups receive their shots.
Federal officials yesterday asked Canadians to be patient, saying that millions of doses will be shipped every week and there will be enough for everyone who needs and wants to get vaccinated.
“They won't have to wait that long. It's a matter of a few weeks before we'll have enough vaccine for everybody that needs it,” said David Butler-Jones, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer. “We anticipate everybody who wishes to be immunized should be able to have that done before Christmas.”
With a resurgence of the swine flu virus and the recent deaths of the two children, Canadians are lining up. Evan Frustaglio, 13, of Toronto, and Vanetia Warner, 10, of Cornwall, Ont., both died of the H1N1 virus in a matter of days, fatalities that health officials called rare but a tragic reminder of how quickly the disease can kill.
Worried parents are getting their children checked for flu, with Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa saying that they're seeing twice the number of emergency patients.
At Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, three people (patients and staff ) in the adult intensive care unit are infected with H1N1, said Allison McGeer, the hospital's director of infection control. While she could not say if the infections were acquired in the hospital, she said the institution is responding as if that were the case.
Despite the increase in disease, Arlene King, the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health, was reluctant to say this week how long it will take to extend the immunization program to all members of the general public.
Canada's largest city will open two clinics today, but only for priority groups. They will be followed by additional clinics for priority groups on Friday and Saturday.
Toronto health officials said that so far they have distributed almost 100,000 doses of the vaccine to hospitals, family physicians, community health centres and other agencies in Toronto.
“It's important to note we are at the beginning,” David McKeown, Medical Officer of Health, said yesterday. “The vaccine only became available late last week.”
Yet, there has been frustration. Toronto residents are eager to get inoculated, preferably from their family physicians. But not many doctors have signed up so far, which could leave many patients to face large, crowded gatherings.
So far, 500 out of 4,000 Toronto doctors in medical practices have applied for the vaccine, said Barbara Yaffe, Toronto's Associate Medical Officer of Health. Some have said the low number is the result of unnecessary paperwork.
“We are trying very hard to make it as easy as possible for physicians,” Dr. Yaffe said. “...We hope most will take us up on this to get the vaccine to their patients, but, of course, the other option is people can come to the public clinics.”
With a report from Karen Howlett in Toronto
