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H1N1 Vaccine Distributed To CDN Provinces

Two Million Doses of Swine Flu Vaccine Await Authorization

Oct 20, 2009 Nathan Stafford

Canada's 13 Provinces and Territories have received a distribution of two million doses of the H1N1 Flu vaccine, and now await authorization for use from Ottawa.

In a news conference held Monday, October 19th, 2009,Canada's Health Minister, Leona Aglukkaq was on hand to deliver a message to the provinces. A supply of H1N1 flu vaccines has been distributed across the country, awaiting the approval of Canada's top physicians.

Says Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler Jones:

"Two million doses of vaccine have already been shipped to provinces and territories to facilitate the implementation of their programs, once authorization is given."

Clinical Trials Soon Underway

Clinical trials are now in the early stages, wherein the vaccines will be tested on approximately 10,000 people, including infants over six months of age and aboriginals, according to a CBC.ca article released October 19th. The results of the clinical trials will ensure that the general public is ready for the vaccine, and that there will be few or no hiccups during distribution. The government calls this "pre-positioning" the vaccine to avoid any initial shortages or scares. Ottawa has anticipated a national availability of three million vaccines per week once the program is fully rolled out.

H1N1 Vaccine Clinics Announced for Early November

The Waterloo Health Region in Ontario has already announced a November 3rd opening date for its first Swine Flu Vaccine Clinic, according to 570 News. The region will host five vaccination clinics, two for seasonal flu, and three for swine flu. It is anticipated that the rest of the country will soon follow suit and start announcing H1N1 vaccination dates as early as November 1st in some regions.

World Health Organization "Recommends" Mandatory Vaccination

As Canada prepares for its initial roll-out of the H1N1 vaccine, the WHO has declared a National Health Emergency, and has made core response mandatory for its member states. In Canada and the US, it will be left up to the individual provinces and states to decree whether the entire public is required to receive the H1N1 vaccination. This does not mean the provinces and states will enforce a mandatory vaccination, rather that each state will adopt its own system to ensure the maximum number of citizens are vaccinated. This could come in the form of education, media blitz, incentives to be vaccinated, or other means. The WHO's mandate is still unclear as to the mandatory vaccination requirements.

Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Plan

The Public Health Agency of Canada has added some new components to the Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Plan, citing sufficient scientific evidence to include an H1N1 vaccine stockpile in preparation. The plan is based on vendor-held stockpiling of the vaccine, and decisions on distribution of the product, as well as the size of the stockpile are being assessed on an ongoing basis.

The copyright of the article H1N1 Vaccine Distributed To CDN Provinces in General Medicine is owned by Nathan Stafford. Permission to republish H1N1 Vaccine Distributed To CDN Provinces in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

H1N1 Virus