DAVID SUZUKI, environmentalist
“I will when my turn comes up. I’m just astounded at people. Do they think doctors, scientists and government are out to poison them or something? I just don’t get what the objections are to this. What does that imply they think about the health experts?”
MARGARET ATWOOD, author
“The jury is out. I’m waiting for more information. I was told (by a talk-show host in New York) that as I am over 65 I may have some immunity, as my parents had the 1919 flu – it’s said to be related.”
SANDRA OH, actor, Grey's Anatomy
“We work in a terrible incubator. Definitely people are down with it. This is a perfect opportunity to get in touch with our health. I just went to Whole Foods and got $200 worth of vitamins.”
PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER AND FAMILY
"They will not be jumping any queues and will be using the public health system, lining up for their shots like everyone else,” a spokesman said.
PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER AND FAMILY: "They will not be jumping any queues and will be using the public health system, lining up for their shots like everyone else,” a spokesman said.
PAUL MARTIN, former Prime Minister
“Mr. Martin has not yet had his swine flu shot but intends to as soon as possible,” said Lucie Santoro, Mr. Martin's assistant
ANNE MURRAY, musician
“We have plenty of Purell and we are keeping human contact at a minimum (so much for fun on the road!),” said Ms. Murray's aide.
JANN ARDEN, musician
“I’m not [getting the shot, because] of all the reading and stuff that I’ve done. I’m coming into a period of time where I meet probably 100 people every night and shake their hands and have a picture taken with them. But having said that, I’m a chronic hand washer. I don’t think I’d be kissing strangers on the cheek or anything of the sort.
“I’m not in an office setting, I’m not going to groups, I’m not in school, I’m not in college. I live in a rural part of Calgary and I haven’t had the flu probably in 25 years. I just so, so rarely get sick. It’s remarkable. And also I’m an older broad. I’m not in that really touchy age group which is teenagers kind of up to 35, 38 and then the elderly, so I don’t really fit the profile. I’m 47 and I’m just not afraid of that. Am I crazy?”
PETER MANSBRIDGE, anchor, CBC's The National
“Yes, because I have become convinced that the risk of taking it is less than the risk of not taking it.”
RICK MERCER, Host, The Rick Mercer Report
"Absolutely. I always get a flu shot, and seeing as how this is H1N1, why would I not get it? Every doctor I know tells me I should get it. Plus I do everything that my government tells me to do.
"My lifestyle means I travel a lot and I shake hands with so many people. I shake hands with every single person in my studio audience every week and that’s 350 people. I take precautions like everyone else. I think everyone should get it, not just people who travel a lot and shake hands.
"In life, you take whatever precautions you can, and that includes getting the proper vaccinations and washing your hands and coughing into your sleeve, but I’m not going to change my lifestyle or stop doing my job.
"I’m hopefully going to arrange the vaccination through my family doctor. I’m a middle-aged man with no underlying reason why I should be near the front of the line, so I’m waiting until everyone else at risk gets the shot. I’m not pushing any pregnant women out of the way to get it.
"The people I’ve talked to who are worried about getting the H1N1 vaccination, the source of their concern seems to be a friend of their friend’s cousin’s brother who read something on the Internet. Very rarely does it involve health officials.
"The panic is worrisome. I wish people were getting the same information in every province. Every province is doing it differently. In Nova Scotia, you can get the H1N1 at the same time as the flu vaccine, in two different arms; in Newfoundland, the children will get vaccinated in schools; in B.C., it’s completely different again. Every province is different. We have the federal government once again saying this is a matter of provincial jurisdiction. That would depend on how one interprets the Canada Health Act; they like to interpret that it has nothing to do with them, so they pass the buck.
