The B.C. government is imposing an end to a seven-month-long strike by British Columbia's ambulance paramedics, citing pandemic infection rates that are expected to rise in B.C. in the coming weeks.
"Right now, our entire health system is operating at full capacity to manage the impact of the H1N1," Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon said shortly after introducing legislation to end the labour dispute. "As we come forward to a period where we know the H1N1 pandemic is going to escalate and get worse in the coming weeks and months, we do really need all hands on deck."
The ambulance service has been operating at essential service levels since April 1, and Mr. Falcon said there is no evidence that the strike has harmed health care services. But he said the pandemic is taxing the system now, and letting the dispute continue would mean "potentially putting lives at risk."
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The union representing ambulance paramedics said imposing a one-year deal, retroactive to April 1, won't help fix the ambulance service. "His comments around the H1N1 pandemic are laughable at best," said spokesman BJ Chute.
The legislation was introduced shortly after Provincial Health Officer Perry Kendall announced that demand for the flu vaccination will continue to outstrip supply for the coming weeks.
"I would ask again that British Columbians be patient and wait their turn," he told a media briefing in Victoria.
Until this week, the province has targeted three priority groups: Individuals under 65 years of age with chronic disease, pregnant women, and individuals - including First Nations people - living in remote or isolated communities.
Starting this week, the list has expanded to include front-line health care workers and children between six months and five years of age. As well, people who are in household contact with babies younger than six months old or people with compromised immune systems are now eligible.
But just as the number of people who can have the shot rises, the supply is dropping. Next week, B.C. expects to receive 25,000 doses of the vaccine, which will be reserved for pregnant women who want a formula that does not contain an adjuvant. Another 63,000 units containing the adjuvant will also be delivered.
Dr. Kendall said the province's plan to roll out the vaccinations on a graduated basis according to need is working, despite reports that some people who are not eligible have been vaccinated. "It's really strictly an honour system," he said.
Health care clinics have reported they cannot keep up with the demand and have been forced to turn people away.
At Vancouver's private Copeman Healthcare Clinic, where patients pay as much as $3,900 in annual fees to get premium services, the chief operating officer said clients who failed to meet the eligibility criteria have been refused the vaccine. The clinic just obtained 300 additional vaccines yesterday, "but it's not nearly enough," said Chris Nedelmann.
In the Downtown Eastside, a clinic that serves high-risk urban aboriginals was also turning patients away. Tina Braun of the Vancouver Native Health Society said she was horrified last week when she was given only 80 vaccines in the first release. "All our patients are vulnerable, it was hard to decide who is more vulnerable," she said. This week, the clinic received another 500 units. Ms. Braun took 100 doses to another clinic, which also caters to a high-risk group in the community. Now she is faced with running out again.
By the end of this week, health authorities hope to have provided roughly 800,000 vaccinations across B.C. - that is, roughly 20 per cent of the population.
But healthy British Columbians who are not considered to be at risk should plan to wait until at least the end of this month to get their vaccination - while the infection rates continue to rise.
Even many health care workers who are supposed to be on the priority list as of this week will not likely be offered a shot. Dr. Kendall said he'd like to have had an adequate supply of the vaccine weeks ago, but given the delays, many people will have to wait until Christmas before they are able to obtain a shot for the H1N1 flu. However, he maintained that is not too late to bother with getting it: The flu strain is likely to be present in B.C. for the next couple of years.
Justine Hunter