Lineups at H1N1 clinics in Winnipeg were short on Wednesday, prompting the health region to issue a call for people to come out. (CBC)The long lineups that plagued Winnipeg's H1N1 vaccination clinics last week are non-existent Wednesday.
The lack of a line at most of the 12 clinics in the city prompted the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to publicly call on for those who want a shot — and fall into one of the priority categories — to come on down.
"There are very short, almost negligible lineups at almost all of our clinics. If someone is interested in one of those groups to come down and get vaccinated, that would be a great thing," said WRHA spokeswoman Heidi Graham.
At many of the clinics last week, the lineups stretched hundreds of people long, and it took more than three hours to get to the front in some locations.
On Monday of this week, the line at the River Heights clinic inside the Grant Park Shopping Centre was 500-strong by the time the doors opened at 9:30 a.m.
'We really want to get the word out because we know there has been lots of media reports about long lineups and so people may be staying away because they fear long lineups.'—Heidi Graham, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
The demand was driven by concerns about the vaccine supply after health officials stated that Manitoba was expecting significantly reduced supplies in the coming week.
On Tuesday, the clinics in Winnipeg and Brandon were closed due to the shortage.
But late Tuesday evening, the WRHA announced that all 12 clinics in the city would reopen for Wednesday.
A larger proportion of the vaccine was returned from occupational clinics, and less than initially anticipated was used Monday. A large number of those vaccinated Monday were children who require just a half-dose, Graham said.
As well, the WRHA started enforcing a strict screening process this week to make sure those in line fell into one of four priority groups.
With those measures, the WRHA counted 12,000 available doses for Wednesday with a shipment of 8,000 more doses expected later this week. The health region also has approximately 4,300 doses of vaccine without adjuvant — an additive that boosts a vaccine's effectiveness — for pregnant women.
Clinics will continue to operate this week for as long as vaccine is available, Graham said, adding that as of 12 noon, 1,493 Winnipeggers had been vaccinated on Wednesday, bringing the cumulative total to 78,265.
Typically, the noon total for each day the clinics were operating last week and earlier this week was closer to 5,000.
"The clinics today started off with much less activity than they have in the past, so we really want to get the word out because we know there has been lots of media reports about long lineups and so people may be staying away because they fear long lineups," Graham said.
As a result of the low turnout on Wednesday, the WRHA decided to expand its priority list from four categories to 10:
- Children aged six months to five years.
- Anyone of aboriginal ancestry (First Nations, Métis or Inuit).
- Disadvantaged individuals (for example, the homeless).
- People living in remote or isolated areas.
- People under 65 with a chronic medical condition or other risks, such as severe obesity, drug abuse or alcoholism.
- Anyone with a weakened immune system or those who live with or care for such people.
- Those who live with or care for infants younger than six months old.
- Single parents or anyone solely responsible for a dependant.
- Health-care workers and medical first responders.
- Pregnant women.
If people are in a priority group they should get inoculated as soon as possible because it takes about a week or so for the vaccine to take effect, Graham said.
