OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper held a conference call with the premiers on Tuesday to talk about swine flu and the economy.
The call came at Harper's behest and mainly covered the troubled H1N1 vaccination campaign.
"It was a positive and collaborative discussion that focused mainly on H1N1 preparedness, and also premiers and the prime minister discussed the economy," said Harper spokesman Dimitri Soudas.
Soudas said the call reflects "the importance of continued co-ordination until the pandemic goes away. Every step of the way, it is important for the federal government and the provinces to continue co-operating hand in glove."
A spokeswoman for the B.C. government confirmed the call, saying the leaders discussed working together on H1N1 and stabilizing the economy. There were no other details.
Another provincial source said the call had been in the works for a week or so.
Talk turned to H1N1 during a recent meeting of the premiers, said a source from Quebec's government. The provincial leaders apparently wanted to revisit that chat with Harper on the line.
Canada's largest mass vaccination effort has been hampered by vaccine shortages, long lineups at clogged clinics, and widespread confusion and frustration.
Ontario joined Manitoba and New Brunswick on Tuesday in temporarily closing some flu-shot clinics due to a shortage of vaccine, even for priority candidates.
Delivery of the vaccine slowed recently after drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline was asked to make special batches of the product for pregnant women.
The changeover from making the adjuvanted version of the vaccine -- which contains a booster compound -- to making special unadjuvanted batches for pregnant women apparently slowed production of the vaccine more than GlaxoSmithKline had expected.
Alberta ran out of vaccine last week and had to temporarily close clinics, while other provinces have been warning of dwindling supplies, including a possible looming shutdown in B.C.
But while some areas of Ontario are shutting down clinics, others have so much vaccine they have begun to distribute it to the general public. So while clinics in the Kingston area are closing because they're out of vaccine, clinics in northwestern Ontario are open to the entire public.
A backdrop to the confusion has been further spread of the H1N1 virus. Last week, health officials reported a three-fold increase from the week before in hospitalizations and intensive-care admissions.
Harper's call also came amid news that Afghan detainees in Canadian custody will be offered the swine-flu shot when the troops get it.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq was taken aback by news that detainees being held at Kandahar Airfield will be offered the H1N1 vaccine.
"Personally, I'm very disturbed by the news," she said. "We did not make this outrageous decision and I've asked my officials to look into that."
A government source said the topic of detainees getting the vaccine didn't come up during Harper's talk with the premiers.
