Crowds form in Regina for phase 2 of H1N1 shots
Last Updated: Monday, November 2, 2009 | 12:02 PM CT
CBC News
Hundreds of people began lining up for H1N1 flu shots in Regina on Monday morning, as the province entered the second phase of its swine flu-fighting program.
Lyle DePauw joined the line with his three-year-old daughter in -8 C weather at a Regina clinic 1½ hours before it opened.
The little girl was kept busy watching a portable DVD player and hadn't been told about the needle, he said.
"She knows she's going to see the nurse," DePauw said.
An estimated 1,500 people were lined up at Regina's Robert Usher Collegiate when the clinic opened at 9 a.m. CT.
Lighter crowds were reported in Saskatoon and other areas around the province.
From Monday to Friday, those deemed high risk — including pregnant women in their third trimester, woman who have recently given birth and children older than six months and under five years old — will be getting shots at free clinics around the province.
In last week's initial phase, health-care workers and other high priority workers were vaccinated.
The second phase begins as health regions start grappling with smaller-than expected shipments of vaccine.
The province announced Friday afternoon it would receive only 13,000 doses, compared to the 60,000 it had expected it would be getting — and the140,000 doses that had been anticipated a few days before that.
Provincial officials said there is enough vaccine to handle all of the high-risk cases this week, but couldn't say what would happen in the future.
The province hoped to begin vaccinating the general population by mid-November, but with the steep decline in vaccine shipments, it's looking at its options.
Lyle DePauw said when the vaccines are made available to the general public, he'd be lining up again.
Six months ago, he and his wife were 100 per cent sure they wouldn't get the shot, but now, after seeing news coverage of the pandemic, they've changed their minds.
"It's not just a Canadian problem, it's a global problem," DePauw said. "We'll do our part to get 'er done."
