Military offers extra vaccine to provinces
Published Friday November 6th, 2009
20,000 | Only P.E.I. has asked for doses
Canada's military is making 20,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine available to the provinces. This is on top of the 30,000 doses put back into the national system earlier by the military.
Cmdr. Peter Clifford, regional surgeon for Joint Task Force Atlantic in Halifax, said the latest vaccine will be available upon request
Cmdr. Peter Clifford, regional surgeon for Joint Task Force Atlantic in Halifax, said vaccine received earlier for the inoculation of its personnel will be available upon request.
To date, only Prince Edward Island has asked. Five hundred doses were delivered to the province Thursday.
"We have received nothing to my knowledge from New Brunswick at this point," Clifford said in an interview.
Provincial authorities weren't available to comment Thursday.
Canada is experiencing a temporary shortage of H1N1 vaccine because the manufacturer has been asked to make special batches of the product for pregnant women. Clifford said the military originally received 110,000 doses.
Of that amount, 70,000 to 80,000 doses were distributed by the Canadian Forces across the country, while 30,000 were kept in reserve at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa.
Because of the civilian shortage, the Forces agreed to return, through the Public Health Agency of Canada, the 30,000 doses in Petawawa.
"The bottom line is the CF (Canadian Forces) purchased 110,000 doses and is giving back almost half, or 50,000 doses, back to the civilian authority," Clifford said.
"We will eventually have enough for all our people once we receive further shipments, but because of shortage in the provincial systems right now, it was felt it was the prudent thing to do to assist the provincial authorities with meeting their shortfall."
H1N1, a pandemic strain of the influenza A virus that originally infected pigs, is a respiratory illness with symptoms similar to those of regular seasonal influenza.
Clifford said the Forces is following a sequencing list when it comes to vaccinating its members.
No personnel, however, received the vaccine before the civilian effort started, he said.
"The first group immunized was health-care workers working for the Canadian Forces," Clifford said.
"The next group to be done was patients with medical conditions placing them at risk with complications from H1N1, as well as those personnel identified through the chain of command as being mission essential."
The Canadian Forces is responsible for immunizing its personnel, but family members will need to go through the provincial or territorial health-care system to receive their vaccinations.
"We are mandated to provide medical services and care to uniformed members but have no authority to care for civilian family members," Clifford said.
At Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, approximately 4,000 doses have been distributed, but it has been spread over a wider spectrum, which includes reserve units.
"Certainly not everybody on base will have been immunized as of this week," he said. "We are going to have a shortfall and we are going to have to wait until we receive more vaccine.
"For example, there will be military students attending military courses on base in Gagetown but they will not have been vaccinated yet because they do not meet the definition of health-care worker, mission-essential personnel or those at risk with a medical condition."
Clifford said the important thing to note is that every Canadian Forces member will get vaccinated.
He said the military hopes to have the vaccine needed to immunize its personnel by the end of this month.
"But it will all depend on vaccine supply and the ability of the manufacturer to meet the demand."
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