Ontario scales back H1N1 vaccinations due to shortages

The provincial health minister has asked citizens to stay away from H1N1 immunization clinics unless they are part of the six high-priority groups that require the vaccine most urgently.

Health Minister Deb Matthews said at a press conference Sunday that the province's supplies are "significantly lower" than expected.

Following a production problem at the plant of the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, the number of vaccines distributed to the province has been significantly reduced.

For each of the past three weeks, Ontario has received about 720,000 doses, but this week the province's allotment from the federal government is 189,500 doses of adjuvanted vaccine and 86,800 of unadjuvanted vaccine for pregnant women, reported the Canadian Press (CP).

"It was a surprise and it is disappointing that we are not going to have enough," said Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer, adding that healthy people will not be vaccinated "for some time."

Dr. King said Sunday she still believes everyone in the province who wants the vaccine will have it by Christmas.

She added the number of clinics offering the vaccine will now double, bringing the total across the province to over 100. This is in addition to hundreds of family doctors in some other regions.

Ontario's priority groups are:

Clinics across Ontario have been overwhelmed in recent days by high demand for the vaccine, in light of mass-advertisement campaigns run by provincial and federal authorities as well as media coverage of the deaths of two young people last week.

Up until the shortage, announced last Friday, provincial health authorities were equally underscoring the message for vaccination, potentially contributing to the long line-ups witnessed outside clinics this past weekend.

In light of one death - that of a 10-year-old girl in Cornwall - the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) held an emergency press conference on Sunday, October 25, with their chief medical officer of health saying the fatality might communicate the severity of the virus.

"I think it will help people make up their minds in a positive way," said Dr. Paul Roumeliotis at the time.

In Hawkesbury, some people waited over four hours to receive the shot Friday night, at the first of a series of clinics run by the EOHU.

CP also reported that in Vaughan, outside Toronto, "some lined up in the dark before 4 a.m. at the Vellore Village Community Centre, even though it wasn't scheduled to open until noon."

David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, admitted on CTV's Question Period Sunday that health officials didn't expect so many people to line up for the H1N1 flu shot.

In light of the shortages, and the current December timeline for vaccinations of healthy people, authorities now appear to be downplaying the immediate necessity of the vaccine for the majority of the population.

"The vast majority of people with the flu recover fully at home," she said, noting the two deaths of children last week "were a rarity, well outside of the norm."

Among cases of lab-confirmed H1N1 in the province, there have been 31 deaths to date. Of those, Dr. King said 609 with confirmed infections have been hospitalized, with 82 kept in hospital.

Approximately 300 deaths related to the seasonal flu are reported to health officials every year in Ontario, she added.

- with files from The Canadian Press