Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

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Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

Last Updated: Thursday, October 22, 2009 | 6:44 PM CT

CBC News


People in Nunavut will receive both the H1N1 flu vaccine and the seasonal flu shot in clinics starting Nov. 1, chief medical officer Dr. Isaac Sobol told reporters on Thursday. (CBC)
Nunavut health officials are set to kick off the first and largest mass vaccination campaign in the territory next month, offering the H1N1 flu vaccine to all who want it.

A 16-day vaccination program will begin Nov. 1 for all of Nunavut's communities, chief medical officer Dr. Isaac Sobol said Thursday.
A schedule will be finalized and posted on the Health Department's flu website next week.

"This is the first mass vaccination program in Nunavut's history," Sobol told reporters in Iqaluit, as he laid out details of Nunavut's $1.4-million plan to fight swine flu.

Sobol said enough doses of the swine flu vaccine have already been shipped to Nunavut to protect 75 per cent of Nunavummiut, and more can be ordered if needed.

Because the H1N1 shot will be offered to everyone eligible to get it ? not just priority groups such as pregnant women and those with chronic conditions ? Sobol said Nunavut will "be able to finish its vaccination program ahead of most other provinces and territories."


Teams to reach communities

"Five teams, including three nurses and support staff, will travel simultaneously throughout our regions to administer the vaccine," Sobol said.

"They will join forces with local health centre staff in each hamlet to run the mass vaccination clinics."

The vaccination teams will take charter flights to the communities, giving them flexibility in case of bad weather or mechanical delays.

The teams can also stay longer in communities that have a higher demand for the vaccine, mass vaccination co-ordinator Christine Hutchinson said.
Nunavummiut will be given the seasonal flu shot at the same time as the H1N1 vaccine, Sobol said.

Children under the age of six months will not be eligible for the flu vaccines, while children under age 10 will receive the H1N1 shot in two half-doses.

Pregnant women can receive a different version of the vaccine, specially formulated to exclude an adjuvant, in the first week of November. An adjuvant is a substance, made of fish oil, water and vitamin E, that stimulates the body's immune response.

Sobol said women who are more than 20 weeks pregnant may end up taking the adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine if the non-adjuvanted version is not available and H1N1 infection rates start to rise.

But Sobol said H1N1 activity in Nunavut has been "very low" for the past several weeks ? a contrast to the hundreds of swine flu cases, mostly mild, that the territory reported this past spring.
Nunavut has not seen any cases of seasonal flu so far, he added.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story...e.html?ref=rss

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Re: Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

Nunavut releases flu vaccine clinic dates

27/10/2009 2:47:47 PM
CBC News

Nunavut's mass H1N1 flu immunization campaign begins next week with a weeklong series of clinics in Iqaluit, while vaccination teams will fly to communities around the territory.

On Tuesday, the Nunavut Health Department released a schedule vaccination dates. The first clinics will be set up in Iqaluit, the capital city, Nov. 1-7.

A department spokesperson told CBC News the Iqaluit clinics will be held in different locations around the city, such as schools and community centres, over the course of the week.

Teams flying to communities

Communities outside Iqaluit will also have clinics ranging from one to four days in length.

Five teams of nurses and support staff will fly to all communities over a 16-day period in November to help local health-care workers administer the H1N1 and seasonal flu shot to those who want it.
All Nunavummiut over the age of six months are eligible for the vaccine.
A full vaccination clinic schedule, including times and venues, is being finalized and will be posted in the communities.

Health officials say they had to wait until federal regulators approved the vaccine before they could book charter flights for the immunization teams.

The teams are flying on charter flights so they can be flexible in their travel plans in case of bad weather or mechanical problems, or if they need to stay longer in communities with a higher demand for the vaccine.

Chief medical officer Dr. Isaac Sobol said last week that Nunavut has already received enough doses of the flu vaccine to protect 75 per cent of Nunavummiut, and more can be ordered if needed.


http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/Local/Y...=abc&date=True

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Re: Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

Nunavut flu vaccine clinic dates:


http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/NunavutVaccineClinicsRev.pdf

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Re: Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

Iqaluit flu clinic busy

Last Updated: Sunday, November 1, 2009 | 5:12 PM ET

CBC News

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A steady stream of people took advantage of Nunavut's mass vaccination campaign against swine flu, which began Sunday in Iqaluit.

Although demand was high, organizers said the process ran smoothly for the 10 nurses on duty.

"It's really busy right now, and we had people in the waiting room before we started," said Manasee Ulayuk, the community health representative for Public Health Iqaluit.

People lined up outside before the clinic opened, despite temperatures of around ?30 C, but they were soon able to get inside to wait there.

On Monday, a second team of nurses will fan out to smaller communities. Nunavut health officials estimate it will take 16 days to provide vaccines in all of the territory's two dozen communities.

Unlike in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut residents will receive their H1N1 shot and their seasonal flu vaccination at the same time in different arms.


http://iphone.cbc.ca/canada/story/20...u-clinics.html

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Re: Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

Iqaluit flu shot clinic draws lineups

No vaccine shortage anticipated, says health official

Last Updated: Monday, November 2, 2009 |

CBC News


A steady stream of people waited for their flu shot Sunday at Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit. (CBC)


More than 1,000 people in Iqaluit lined up to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine on Sunday, the first day of a 16-day mass vaccination program in Nunavut.

Many came early to Sunday's clinic at Inuksuk High School, where nurses called out numbers and people reported to one of 12 vaccination stations set up in the cafeteria.

"I'm just concerned about the well-being of my children and I guess I want to do everything I can do to make sure they don't get H1N1," said Aluki Rojas, who showed up early with six children.

Despite a lineup that was often backed up out the door, the clinic went smoothly, said Kristine Hutchinson, co-ordinator of Nunavut's mass vaccination program.

"The average wait's been about between 20 minutes and an hour, and that's I think reasonable to go through the whole registration process," she told CBC News.

In Iqaluit, the flu vaccine will be available for the rest of this week at Aqsarniik Middle School. The clinic there runs from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

'All in place'

Unlike in some provinces, where the H1N1 flu vaccine was first given only to priority groups, the northern territories have been offering the vaccine to everyone who wants it.

While some provinces are grappling with vaccine shortages, Nunavut health officials say they do not expect a shortage in the territory.

"We got all of the vaccine that we ordered well in advance," said Dr. Isaac Sobol, Nunavut's chief medical health officer.

"Some other jurisdictions are getting their shipments little by little. We have it all in place, so our projection is we'll be able to give the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines to everybody who wants it without any delays."

Sobol said Nunavut has ordered enough doses of the H1N1 vaccine to treat about 75 per cent of the population.

Nunavut's vaccine order was given priority with the federal government because of the territory's isolated communities.

Rangers to help out at clinics

Five teams of nurses are boarding charter flights to Cape Dorset and Kimmirut on Monday, as they begin administering the flu vaccines in communities outside Iqaluit.

Hutchinson said the clinic in Iqaluit on Sunday gave the nurses a chance to see what they could face in the communities.

"They'll have the process down pat at this point, so this is their day to get used to that and be able to bring that to the communities," she said.

The Canadian Rangers will also be on hand at the community clinics to act as a liaison between health staff and residents, helping out with issues such as translation.

The Health Department has asked the Rangers, who more often take part in search and military-related patrols, to help monitor waiting areas and reception zones at vaccination clinics.

"It's exciting because the Rangers are there to support their own community, and this is the perfect example," said Maj. Luc Chang, commander of the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group.

"They've worked during 2008 with some scientists, now they will work with the health agency. So it's an interesting time for the Ranger program."
Health officials say they hope to have reached all of Nunavut's communities by Nov. 16.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story...e.html?ref=rss

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Re: Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

40% of Nunavummiut have H1N1 vaccine

Last Updated: Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 4:32 PM CT

CBC News


With less than one week to go in Nunavut's mass flu vaccination program, health officials say more than 40 per cent of the territory's residents have received the shot.

About 13,000 Nunavummiut have rolled up their sleeves for the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots since Nunavut began delivering the vaccine to all communities on Nov. 1.

The immunization program wraps up on Nov. 16. Nurses are in the remote communities of Chesterfield Inlet and Coral Harbour on Thursday, and will be in Kugluktuk on Friday.

Nunavut has ordered enough of the H1N1 vaccine to treat 75 per cent of the population.

The territory experienced a large outbreak of H1N1 cases in the spring but health officials say infection rates so far this fall have been low.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story...u-vaccine.html

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Re: Nunavut starts swine flu shots Nov. 1

Nunavut reports H1N1 vaccine surplus

Last Updated: Monday, January 4, 2010 | 10:43 AM CT

CBC News

There is a surplus of about 5,000 doses of the swine flu vaccine in Nunavut, according to health officials.

The leftover doses are in every community across Nunavut, the Health Department says.

Officials believe local health centres are still seeing a few people who were unable to get the vaccine during immunization clinics in November.

The department estimates about 60 per cent of Nunavummiut had received the H1N1 shot by the end of the mass vaccination campaign.

That figure is expected to be updated sometime in the new year.

The current vaccine will remain available until it expires this fall.

However, if the H1N1 virus is still present by the fall, health officials say an H1N1 component may be included in the next seasonal flu vaccine.

There have been 33 confirmed cases of swine flu since the beginning of October. No new cases were confirmed in the last two weeks.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story...e-surplus.html