Flu shot clinics across the country began administering the swine flu vaccine Monday, and high-risk groups, including the chronically ill and pregnant women, were encouraged to be the first in line.
While some clinics are prepared to vaccinate anyone who asks, others are limiting shots to health care workers and other at-risk populations, and will begin vaccinating the general public within the next two to three weeks.
High-priority groups include people under the age of 65 who are suffering from chronic disease; pregnant women; children under five; health care workers; and people in remote communities.
- In Nova Scotia, shots for Capital Health employees will be offered starting Thursday. In Halifax, the general population must wait another week.
- In New Brunswick, health care workers are being vaccinated first, along with at-risk groups.
- Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia are offering the flu vaccine first to high-priority groups. Officials are asking others to wait.
- Saskatchewan's program will be limited to health care workers, with other high-risk groups able to get the shot the first week of November.
- Officials in Alberta say that while they, too, are targeting at-risk people, no one will be turned away from flu shot clinics.
Officials in Quebec began administering the vaccine on Saturday. Vaccination programs will continue through December.
CTV medical expert Dr. Marla Shapiro says the vaccine is the best way to protect against the H1N1 flu virus.
"We have to remind people that vaccine strategy is the best prevention against this primary illness and the good news is that the type of vaccine that has been prepared...is a good match for the circulating flu bug that's out there," Shapiro told Canada AM on Monday.
"If we track what's being reported in our clinics that are watching and actually doing swabs, 99.9 per cent or so in some communities of what we're seeing is all H1N1, as opposed to the different type of seasonal strains."
Millions of doses were shipped to the provinces and territories last week in advance of Health Canada's decision on Wednesday to approve the vaccine.
The government has ordered more than 50 million doses of the vaccine from its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, which means every Canadian who wants a shot can have one.
But that vaccine contains an adjuvant, an organic compound designed to make the shot more effective, and pregnant women are being urged to get vaccinated with a non-adjuvanted dose.
On Monday afternoon, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced that Canada has purchased 200,000 doses of an adjuvant-free vaccine from Australia-based CSL Ltd., which will be made available to pregnant women next week.
GlaxoSmithKline's adjuvant-free vaccine will be available in early November.
"The government of Canada is committed to protecting the health of all Canadians," Aglukkaq told a news conference. "The steps we are taking today will help ensure everyone has access to the H1N1 flu vaccine at the right time."
Despite the mass immunization program, a Strategic Counsel poll taken for 麻豆影视 and The Globe and Mail released Sunday found that 51 per cent of Canadians do not plan to get vaccinated.
That is despite the fact that 67 per cent of those polled said they believe the vaccine is safe for adults and 59 per cent said the vaccine is safe for children.
The poll, which questioned 1,000 Canadians between Oct. 22 and 24, suggests most of the country is not overly worried about the H1N1 flu, even if people are taking precautions.
Of the 63 per cent who said they are taking precautions:
- 97 per cent are washing their hands more
- 32 per cent are avoiding crowded places
- 35 per cent are avoiding shaking hands
- 19 per cent are visiting retail stores less often
- 11 per cent are avoiding airplane flights
The federal government will attempt to win over the vaccine sceptics in a new advertising campaign to roll out over the next several weeks.
While current ads tell Canadians how to prevent contracting or passing on the virus, by sneezing into their sleeves and washing their hands, the new ads will focus on the vaccine.
"There will be more (ads) coming over the month, for sure," Tim Vail, a spokesperson for Aglukkaq, told The Canadian Press.
"It's not going to be a tsunami. We have ads out there now about being prepared (and) those ads will continue to go out. And as those buys are done, we'll be talking about becoming vaccinated."
Canadians have had wide-ranging opinions on the vaccines.
Forklift operator James Mac is so against the vaccine, he was out warning public to avoid getting the shot on Monday.
"Do we want to put this in our body?" he asked.
Health officials are worried that such sentiment may hurt Canadians in the long-run.
"I guess what frustrates me is the amount of mythology out there. The anti-vaccine movement -- really, its efforts are to create doubt," Chief Public Health Officer Dr. David Butler-Jones said.
In Ontario, health officials are launching a new radio commercial aimed at convincing the public to take the H1N1 virus seriously.
With files from The Canadian Press
