| Young students to get H1N1 vaccine next |
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| Local Content - Local News |
| Written by publisher |
| Thursday, 05 November 2009 17:44 |
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By Allison Werbowetsky However, Saskatchewan’s rationing method seems to be working effectively so far. The latest group to be added to the high-priority list includes students in Kindergarten to Grade 6. Although there is no clear answer from the health region yet as to when those clinics will start, there will be a consent form sent home to parents soon. The vaccinations will likely be given right there in the schools. That means the eligibility list now includes: all health care workers and providers, people living in remote and isolated communities, children from six months to under five years of age, pregnant women and post-partum women who have given birth no more than four weeks ago, and the recently added young students group. So far more than 70 per cent of all health care workers – which also includes physicians, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists and all office staff, firefighters, and EMS – in the region have been vaccinated. Those people, as well as others in the high-priority groups already vaccinated, account for approximately 5,000 of the 44,000 people in the Cypress Health Region. That is just over 11 per cent of the region’s population. Within three weeks, the health region hopes to have all of the high-priority groups covered and will be able to open clinics up to the general population. People 65 years of age and over will be part of the general population group. Although they are more susceptible to the seasonal flu, they appear to be less likely to contract the H1N1 flu than are younger age groups such as 18 to 40-year-olds. All of this depends, of course, on the amount of vaccine the province receives in the coming weeks. Also, pharmacists and family physicians are not providing the vaccine at this time because there isn’t enough vaccine available to warrant that, said director of population health, Trent Regier. However, “once we get to a mass campaign and all of sudden more vaccine is made available to us” then “we may partner with them,” he said. The vaccines distributed to Canadian communities are manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline in Mississauga, Ont., and are rationed out to each province on a per capita basis. It is said to be perfectly safe. “To get authorized, a vaccine goes through very strict checks for the quality and for the safety,” said Dr. David Torr, consulting medical health officer for the Cypress Health Region. “No severe reactions have been reported to date,” Torr assured. Only minimal reactions to the H1N1 vaccine, such as soreness in the arm, minor headaches and queasiness, have been noticed. However, people with severe egg allergies are asked not to get the vaccination. “The H1N1 virus is the biggest circulating virus,” and that means there is a 90 per cent chance you have the H1N1 flu if you are experiencing a fever, chest congestion and coughing,” Torr said. “Most cases of H1N1 are actually presenting as mild to moderate which essentially means that they are able to recover by resting at home and taking in enough fluids,” he continued. The bad news, however, is that people “are most infectious 24 hours prior to showing signs and symptoms and upwards of three to five days afterwards,” Regier said, and it takes at least 10 to 14 days for the vaccine to fully kick in. That leaves a large time gap that allows the virus to spread easily and quickly from person to person. “We are in an H1N1 pandemic” and have been since June. “We are now in the beginnings of the second wave,” Torr said. “Everybody is advocated, as soon as the vaccine is available, to take the H1N1 vaccine” in the event that a third wave hits the community. It won’t be “too late” because “there usually is a third wave,” he advised. The health region budgeted $8.5 million on top of the regular seasonal flu campaign budget to pay for the H1N1 campaign, Regier said, but that estimate was based on an aim-high method. “If the severity worsens, that number could double or triple depending on what happens. If the severity doesn’t change, of course, then some of those costs will be rolled back into our regular operations,” he said, and various products and supplies that aren’t used will go into the regular inventory. The health region is currently maintaining close to normal operations, with the exception of a few delayed education sessions not related to pandemic planning, school programs and vaccinations for travel. That will change next week, Regier said.
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