Saskatchewan ready for swine flu, health minister says

[Tonka]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2009/09/03/swine-flu.html

Saskatchewan ready for swine flu, health minister says
Last Updated: Thursday, September 3, 2009 | 5:10 PM CT Comments3Recommend2CBC News
Although doubts have been raised by the NDP, Saskatchewan's health minister insists the government is prepared to deal with a potential swine flu pandemic this fall.

Questions about the government's preparedness were raised Thursday by Opposition health critic Judy Junor.

She said the government has not adequately prepared people for the next wave of the H1N1 virus.

Earlier in the year, the virus was a factor in the deaths of four Saskatchewan people and left more than 800 people ill.

Health officials said the flu could be worse this fall, resulting in a pandemic ? a sudden outbreak of a disease that becomes very widespread and affects a whole region.

Junor said there are many unanswered questions, such as when Saskatchewan will get the vaccine for the H1N1 virus, how many doses it will get, who will be vaccinated first and where.

Junor said she doesn't want to alarm people, but even medical workers don't know the answers to her questions.

"I meet nurses, medical technicians, municipal leaders," Junor said. "I just asked them, what are you doing in your facility, what do you know about what you're going to have to do? And I really was stunned by how little they do know."

McMorris said he wanted to reassure the public that the province is on top of the situation.

Saskatchewan will get enough vaccine to treat everyone in the province, and the government will spend whatever it takes to do that, he said.

"If it takes $32 million to ensure the safety and full vaccination of our population, that money will be there. If it took $40 million, that money will be there," he said.

"Our government will do everything in its means to ensure the public safety in the event that this pandemic increases in numbers and severity."

Health officials say the vaccine ? which, like other flu vaccines, is supposed to reduce the likelihood of infection but does not completely protect people against the flu ? is expected to arrive in Saskatchewan in October or November

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Saskatchewan ready for swine flu, health minister says

H1N1 could hit early: officials

Enough vaccine on order, but flu virus may precede it

By James Wood, The StarPhoenix

September 4, 2009 9:15 AM

Saskatchewan should be fully prepared by November for a potential second wave of the H1N1 virus, the provincial government said Thursday.

At the same time, the government acknowledged the disease, once known as the swine flu, could make a resurgence sooner, possibly as early as this month.

With the Opposition raising concerns over the province's preparedness, Dr. Saqib Shahab, deputy chief medical officer of health for Saskatchewan, said Saskatchewan -- like other jurisdictions -- expects to receive the flu vaccine by mid-November.

With 1.5 million immunization shots on order, there will be enough vaccinations for everyone in the province who wants one, based on an estimated two-thirds of the population seeking vaccinations, which consist of two shots one month apart, he said.

As well, plans exist for facilities and personnel to administer the vaccinations.

Shahab said there is an estimate that a second wave of the flu would require a 15 to 20 per cent increase in capacity for intensive-care units in hospitals.

"Planning is already underway to expand that capacity in terms of the number of ventilators that you need, the number of ICU beds that you need," he told reporters at provincial Health Ministry offices.

"The other thing you have to remember is, as the second wave comes, it doesn't come all at once in a single province. So when it comes it kind of travels to one jurisdiction to another. So again, a lot of it is also working with each other in sharing some of that increased demand when the wave peaks in one community."

Shahab acknowledged there could be some challenges if the virus -- which killed four Saskatchewan residents out of 898 confirmed cases in the province -- begins to strike before vaccinations and ICU capacity are in place.

In the United States, the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recently warned "the fall resurgence may well occur as early as September, with the beginning of the school term, and the peak infection may occur in mid-October."

Noting influenza transmits much more easily in colder weather, Shahab said such simple actions as individuals staying home when they feel ill should have a significant positive effect.

"Even if we do see high levels of activity in September and October, we're hoping we can reduce the peak through those measures until we get the immunization. . . . By using a combination of public health measures, vaccination when it's available and early anti-viral use when required, those are the tools we have to try to limit its impact even if it comes early," said Shahab.

Dr. George Miller, president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association, said an early outbreak is an issue but influenza typically peaks in October and November in the fall.

However, he pointed to a concern raised this week by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which said Canada was not acting quickly enough in immunizing at-risk populations.

The vaccine coming in November contains an adjuvant, an additive that can help generate a stronger immune response to the vaccine, often making it possible to reduce the size of the vaccine dose or the number of doses needed.

But the CMAJ editorial said Canada should follow the U.S. in delivering a vaccine without an adjuvant -- which would be available sooner -- to groups such as children, pregnant women and people with underlying health issues.

"We're going to have to rely on our vaccine and we're going to have to get it out as soon as we can," said Miller.

NDP health critic Judy Junor said in a news conference at the provincial legislature that basic information around areas such as flu vaccine have been lacking for both the public and health-care workers.


http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/H1N1+could+early+officials/1961306/story.html