Flu does not take a holiday, top health official warns
November 18, 2009
Theresa Boyle
HEALTH REPORTER
Even though some areas of the province have reported that H1N1 activity has peaked, public health officials say it's still important for all Ontarians over six months of age to get immunized.
"The flu virus does not take a holiday. We cannot afford to let our guard down," Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Arlene King said Wednesday.
The provincial government announced that all 36 health units in Ontario will be making the vaccine available to everyone – not just priority groups – as of Thursday. Some health units, including four of five in the Greater Toronto Area, starting making the vaccine available to the general public Wednesday.
King said she's disappointed more people haven't been getting vaccinated in the last week as the priority groups have broadened. Provincial estimates show that only 40 to 45 per cent of Ontarians plan to get the vaccine.
Everyone in Ontario who wants the H1N1 flu shot can have it starting Thursday.
Health Minister Deb Matthews announced Wednesday that each of Ontario's clinics will offer the vaccination to anyone who wants it.
Calling the move "a big step forward," Matthews says officials were able to open the clinics to the general public earlier than expected because they are now confident there will be enough vaccine.
She says the immunization campaign is the largest ever held in the province, with 2.5 million people vaccinated in just three weeks.
Previous weeks have seen vaccinations limited to priority groups such as health-care workers, pregnant women, children and people with underlying medical conditions.
But this week at least 17 health units in the province began offering the H1N1 vaccine to the general public.
Toronto, York, Halton and Durham invited all residents — not just priority groups — to get the shot at mass vaccination clinics and many doctors' offices starting Wednesday, while Peel is following suit on Thursday.
By the time Toronto's clinic at Metro Hall opened at 1 p.m. several hundred people were waiting to be vaccinated.
The winding line moved steadily throughout the early afternoon, with people saying they waited about one to two hours in line to get the shot, and sit in the recovery area.
Chella Tingley and her daughters Georgia, 9, and Sara Drummond, 11, arrived at the hall at about 12:30 and were all seen in under two hours.
Tingley said she has been advised to take the shot by her family doctor.
"Frankly they know more than me so I am going with it," she said.
Some public health officials said Tuesday that their regions are past the peak of the flu outbreak, the first indication that the GTA is starting to come out the other end of the pandemic.
"We are clearly past the peak level of activity. We are on the downturn," said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton's medical officer of health.
"I hope we'll see busier clinics than we've had in the past few days. Our staff are prepared for it," said Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's medical officer of health, adding that H1N1 is still circulating in the city.
Public health units recently received new shipments of the vaccine. Toronto has enough to last a week, McKeown said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said he plans to get the vaccine sometime this week, but says he's not sure if he'll do it in front of cameras, joking with reporters that he might faint.
With files from Emily Mathieu and Canadian Press.
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