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Written by Citizen staff
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Wednesday, 04 November 2009 |
Some prisoners at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre and inmates across the province had access to H1N1 vaccine last week, B.C.’s chief medical officer confirmed Wednesday.
Dr. Perry Kendall said inmates under the age of 65 with underlying chronic conditions have been given the vaccine, which is being rationed across the province as health authorities grapple with high demand and a squeeze on available doses.
It’s a policy, said Ian Indridson, a spokesperson for B.C. Corrections, that’s consistent with how the vaccination program is being rolled out to the population at large.
“Following direction from the health authorities and the Provincial health officer, the initial focus of BC Corrections’ immunization efforts has been on inmates with chronic health issues,” Indridson wrote in an e-mail.
Groups that were given first crack at the vaccine include pregnant women and people living in remote and isolated communities (including all First Nations living on-reserve) as well as people under 65 with chronic conditions.
That’s been expanded this week to include: children six months to less than five years of age; health-care workers; those in household contact with infants less than six months of age; and people who are immuno-compromised. Vaccinations for the public at large will be available late November or early December.
In the nine prisons in the province, there have been five confirmed cases of H1N1, none at PGRCC. As of Tuesday, there were 2,721 inmates in B.C.
Indridson added there were no confirmed cases of H1N1 among corrections staff; although some staff are staying home with flu-like symptoms, the absentee rate is not above typical seasonal levels.
Other H1N1 developments Tuesday included:
- Kendall confirmed a report that Canada is getting 1.8-million new H1N1 vaccine doses. The Globe report says one million of the doses will be with adjuvant; 800,000 will be without the additive and be used for pregnant women. Of the shipments from GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Kendall said B.C. can expect 216,000 doses. He also noted that next week the province will continue to have a limited supply and hoped GlaxoSmithKline will eventually be supplying three million doses a week.
- Three more British Columbians died of H1N1 Tuesday, bringing the province’s death toll to 15. Since Oct. 27, there have been 162 new severe cases of H1N1 identified in B.C.: 79 in the Fraser Valley, 50 in Vancouver, 17 in the Interior, eight on Vancouver Island and eight in the North.
- While there have been a ‘few glitches’ and a few clinics ran out of vaccine, the majority of chiefs are happy with access to the vaccine in remote First Nations communities, said Kendall. He said the shortfall could be attributed to more people than anticipated moving back to reserves.
- There are 46 patients with confirmed or suspected cases of H1N1 on ventilators. The province should have adequate supplies of ventilators as well as access to a national store of the devices, and Kendall said use of Tamiflu is reducing the number of patients who need to use them. He estimated the province’s Tamiflu stock is down 15 per cent so far.
- Newly released figures show it will cost Ottawa and the provinces $400 million for the H1N1 vaccine, not including related costs. The federal government is picking up 60 per cent of the tab for 50.4 million doses of the vaccine, while the provinces and territories will foot the rest of the bill.
Ottawa will spend another $78 million on related costs incurred by Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
- As fallout from the Calgary Flames jumping the queue and receiving the vaccine intensified, Kendall confirmed the Abbotford Heat, the NHL squad’s AHL farm team, also got shots. He said he would be discussing the matter with the team physician and the physician-run clinic that supplied the shots. Kendall reiterated that no professional or amateur sports team has authority to jump the queue.
- Kendall asked businesses to exercise leniency when asking for doctor’s notes. In the current environment he called them “an unnecessary requirement” that would potentially expose other people to H1N1 as employees went to physician’s offices.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 November 2009 )
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