Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
Alberta child dies from H1N1 complications
By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.comNovember 13, 2009 4:43
Four more Albertans have died after catching H1N1, including the first child who had chronic underlying health conditions, bringing the provincial total to 38 deaths since the outbreak of the flu in April.
?It is the first child, but this is not unexpected,? said Dr. Martin Lavoie, Alberta?s deputy chief medical officer of health, referring to a girl from Central Alberta. ?Even with seasonal influenza, we see that happening on an annual basis.?
In a regular flu season, between 11 and 91 people die directly from the flu or because of complications brought on by the flu. It?s not known how many are children.
?We?re still talking about small numbers,? Lavoie said of the deaths during the H1N1 pandemic. ?Because of that, (a child?s death) was bound to happen so now we have the first one and hopefully we won?t see any other, so that?s what Mother Nature does. It?s how it strikes.?
Alberta is close to reaching the peak of the second wave of the pandemic, but should expect to see a third and fourth wave of illness in the winter and spring.
To prevent further spread, vaccination clinics will open their doors Saturday to adults aged 18 to 44 with chronic health conditions, as well as household contacts of those who can?t be immunized, such as people with suppressed immune systems.
?With the announcement today, we are able to offer it to everybody in the highest risk category,? Lavoie said. Starting as soon as Monday, paramedics, firefighters and police officers will also be able to get their shots. That?s partly because more vaccine became available after Health Canada announced that unadjuvanted vaccine can be given to healthy adults in addition to pregnant women. Even though it doesn?t contain an immunity-boosting additive, the vaccine works very well in the healthy population, the department announced.
Alberta received 127,000 doses of unadjuvanted vaccine this week which could be used on healthy caregivers of babies right now, and later in police and finally in the general population once the eligibility for vaccination clinics opens up.
?We?re just going to be able to offer it more widely,? Lavoie said. ?The fact that we can use more vaccine, unadjuvanted vaccine, is good news. ? It is a good vaccine for people who are healthy.?
jsinnema@thejournal.canwest.com
? Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Alberta+child+dies+from+H1N1+complications/2220545/story.html
By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.comNovember 13, 2009 4:43
Four more Albertans have died after catching H1N1, including the first child who had chronic underlying health conditions, bringing the provincial total to 38 deaths since the outbreak of the flu in April.
?It is the first child, but this is not unexpected,? said Dr. Martin Lavoie, Alberta?s deputy chief medical officer of health, referring to a girl from Central Alberta. ?Even with seasonal influenza, we see that happening on an annual basis.?
In a regular flu season, between 11 and 91 people die directly from the flu or because of complications brought on by the flu. It?s not known how many are children.
?We?re still talking about small numbers,? Lavoie said of the deaths during the H1N1 pandemic. ?Because of that, (a child?s death) was bound to happen so now we have the first one and hopefully we won?t see any other, so that?s what Mother Nature does. It?s how it strikes.?
Alberta is close to reaching the peak of the second wave of the pandemic, but should expect to see a third and fourth wave of illness in the winter and spring.
To prevent further spread, vaccination clinics will open their doors Saturday to adults aged 18 to 44 with chronic health conditions, as well as household contacts of those who can?t be immunized, such as people with suppressed immune systems.
?With the announcement today, we are able to offer it to everybody in the highest risk category,? Lavoie said. Starting as soon as Monday, paramedics, firefighters and police officers will also be able to get their shots. That?s partly because more vaccine became available after Health Canada announced that unadjuvanted vaccine can be given to healthy adults in addition to pregnant women. Even though it doesn?t contain an immunity-boosting additive, the vaccine works very well in the healthy population, the department announced.
Alberta received 127,000 doses of unadjuvanted vaccine this week which could be used on healthy caregivers of babies right now, and later in police and finally in the general population once the eligibility for vaccination clinics opens up.
?We?re just going to be able to offer it more widely,? Lavoie said. ?The fact that we can use more vaccine, unadjuvanted vaccine, is good news. ? It is a good vaccine for people who are healthy.?
jsinnema@thejournal.canwest.com
? Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Alberta+child+dies+from+H1N1+complications/2220545/story.html