Vaccination delay worries seniors
Flu treatment clinics open in Montreal
Last Updated: Monday, November 9, 2009 | 9:16 PM ET
CBC News
A vaccination clinic at Montreal's Olympic Stadium opened Monday. (CBC)Public health officials in Montreal are defending their decision not to put seniors on the list of priority groups to be vaccinated against the H1N1 virus.
The public health department announced on the weekend that it would start vaccinating people with chronic illnesses, a group that had previously expected to wait until mid-November.
People over the age of 65 with chronic illnesses are not included in the group, which has some seniors concerned.
"I guess we're considered low on the totem pole," said Pointe-Claire resident Allan Dean, who is in his 70s and has diabetes.
Figures from the Health Ministry show seniors have made up the majority of flu-related deaths in Quebec. Dean said he would like to get the H1N1 vaccine but was told he would have to wait.
Montreal officials said they have no plans to vaccinate people over 65 until Dec. 7.
Dr. Timothy Brewer, an epidemiologist at McGill University, agreed the vaccination plan is not ideal.
If seniors do get infected, "they are at a higher risk for severe disease or death if they have underlying medical conditions like asthma and heart disease," Brewer said. "I would not have an age cutoff if I had no limits on my vaccine."
Dr. Richard Lessard, Montreal’s director of public health, said that given the short supply of vaccine, officials had to make difficult choices.
"We had to make a choice as to which group we would vaccinate first, concerning the availability of the vaccine that we were supposed to have."
Lessard said this meant vaccinating those most at risk of contracting the flu — those under the age of 65. If more vaccine becomes available, public health officials will accelerate the vaccination of seniors with chronic illnesses.
Dr. Alain Poirier, Quebec's director of public health, said Monday that the next group to be vaccinated will be those between the ages of five and 19. He could not say when the vaccinations would start.
Montreal's director of public health, Dr. Richard Lessard, says officials have had to make difficult choices. (CBC)
So far, Poirier said, the province has vaccinated more than 820,200 people.
Flu clinics open
Meanwhile on Monday, Montreal opened 13 clinics dedicated to treating people with flu-like symptoms.
The goal of the clinics is to keep patients with the flu out of hospitals, helping to avoid the spread of the illness and relieving pressure on hospitals.
"The emergency rooms, especially at the pediatric hospitals, are very crowded at the present time," said Dr Louise Ayotte of the Montreal Health Agency. "More than one-third of the people they’re seeing there are there for the flu."
Officials at the Westmount Square Medical Centre complained that they were not provided with much notice that their facilities would be used as a flu clinic.
But despite some confusion over the purpose of the clinics — they are not offering vaccinations — officials said the centres were working well.
"This was our day one so we weren't expecting much, but we were full today," said Vince Trevisonno of the Brunswick Medical Centre in Pointe-Claire.
Vaccinations at Big Owe
Monday was also the first day vaccinations were offered at a makeshift clinic in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.
The clinic’s director Gary Furlong said things were moving at a good pace. The clinic planned to vaccinate 320 people an hour.
"After a few days being acclimatized to the location of the Olympic Stadium we might be able to do more," he said.
The province has also reported its 10th swine-flu related death since the start of the second wave of the virus.
The 26-year-old man from Laval had underlying medical problems. He was the first person from the region to die from flu-related illness since Aug. 30.
