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Ask military to help with H1N1: Ottawa councillor

Last Updated: Friday, November 6, 2009 | 12:11 PM ET

Coun. Bob Monette believes doctors and nurses from the Armed Forces could be deployed in cities to help with H1N1 vaccinations.Coun. Bob Monette believes doctors and nurses from the Armed Forces could be deployed in cities to help with H1N1 vaccinations. (CBC)

An Ottawa city councillor wants to call in the Armed Forces to help conduct swine flu vaccinations.

Coun. Bob Monette said Thursday he has written to federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq asking if doctors, nurses and medics from the Canadian Forces could be deployed in cities across Canada to help with the H1N1 vaccinations.

Monette said the idea came to him after speaking with a constituent who's a member of the Forces.

"Why not think of all the possibilities?" Monette said.

"This was one more possibility that I found was worthwhile looking into, and let's see if anything comes from it. If we can get one or two doctors, a nurse, to help out, then it's worthwhile," he said.

Ottawa-Orleans MP Royal Galipeau has endorsed Monette's idea. He said he's also written to the health minister and to the minister of defence.

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Swine flu

Ready or not
Hygiene lessons to prevent school spread
Swine flu: FAQs
The vaccine: the road to rollout
How it's unfolding: a timeline
Timeline: key dates in the development of H1N1 vaccine
Isolating the ill: when to quarantine
MAP: Tracking H1N1 across Canada
Investigating swine flu: WHO's pandemic alert levels
Did pandemic-watchers miss the signs online?
Swine flu roots traced to Spanish flu
Will face masks protect you from the flu?
Inside CBC News: We are not renaming swine flu

In Depth

7 things you should know about swine flu
How swine flu is changing some behaviours
Pandemic preparation: dealing with infectious disease outbreaks
What is a virus?
How viruses mutate
Misconceptions about the flu
Tips for building your immune system
Fighting the flu
The 1918 flu epidemic
CBC Archives: Influenza - Battling the last great virus
CBC Archives: The swine flu fiasco

Stories

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(Sept. 25, 2009)
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Seasonal flu shot may increase H1N1 risk
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Swine flu hits Vancouver and island schools
(Sept. 23, 2009)
Swine flu protocol signed for First Nations
(Sept. 19, 2009)
Swine flu vaccines to fall short: WHO
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H1N1 vaccine in babies worries expert
(Sept. 17, 2009)
Swine flu outbreak hits Vancouver Island First Nations
(Sept. 17, 2009)
Fears over H1N1 flu rising in NWT community
(Sept. 17, 2009)
H1N1 vaccine priority groups released
Sept. 16, 2009
H1N1 vaccines get U.S. approval
Sept. 15, 2009
1 dose of Canada's H1N1 shot protects adults: company
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Address swine flu vaccine fears, doctor urges
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Vaccinate kids early to fight swine flu
Sept. 10, 2009
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Swine flu deaths top 2,800 worldwide
Sept. 4, 2009
Canada's swine flu vaccine coming in October
Sept. 3, 2009
Swine flu vaccine on schedule: health minister
Sept. 2, 2009
Flu vaccine plan will be too slow: CMAJ
August 31, 2009
Feds, First Nations leaders at odds on swine flu preparations
August 29, 2009
Swine flu vaccine funding boosted
August 27, 2009
Swine flu 'czar' needed: CMA Journal
August 17, 2009
Canada to order 50.4 million H1N1 vaccine doses
August 6, 2009
Universities brace for fall swine flu wave
July 30, 2009
Canadian swine flu vaccine set for October
July 17, 2009
Alcohol-based sanitizers for flu-hit First Nations delayed over substance abuse fears
June 23, 2009
WHO declares swine flu pandemic, no change in Canada's approach
June 11, 2009
Swine flu epidemic in decline: Mexico
May 3, 2009
No sustained spread of swine flu virus outside North America: WHO
May 2, 2009
Canada doing all that's needed to respond to swine flu: PM
April 30, 2009
WHO boosts pandemic alert level to 5
April 29, 2009

Video

Former patients tell their stories
What the World of Warcraft video game is teaching pandemic experts
Swine flu reality check with Dr. Michael Gardam with the Ontario Agency for Health Protection (4:25)
May 1, 2009

External Links

H1N1 Flu Virus surveillance from the Public Health Agency of Canada
FluWatch animated maps of flu activity, Public Health Agency of Canada
Influenza A/H1N1 situation updates from the WHO
H1N1 Flu situation update from Centres for Disease Control

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