Ontario is setting up assessment centres across the province where people with flu-like symptoms who are concerned they may have contracted the H1N1 virus can go to find out if they need additional medical attention.

People can go to the centres to "get medical advice on whether they should go home and rest or see their doctor or go to an emergency room," Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, said at a news conference on Monday.

The centres are being set up to alleviate some of the pressure that clinics and emergency rooms across the province are facing, King said. Many have been inundated with people who are concerned their fevers and coughs may be symptoms of the H1N1 flu.

Twenty flu assessment centres have already been set up across Ontario over the weekend, including locations in Kingston, Hamilton and St. Catharines. Eleven more will open by Wednesday, and the province is considering opening another six, King said.

Toronto Public Health is expected to say soon whether it will open any of the centres in the city.

Vaccinations till Christmas

King also said that people in Ontario will be getting vaccinated well into December.

"We have been advised by the federal government that we will be receiving vaccine up until Christmas," she said.

Priority groups are:

  • Pregnant women.
  • Children from six months to five years of age.
  • People who live with children under six months old.
  • People under 65 with underlying medical conditions.
  • Immuno-compromised people and those caring for them.
  • People living in remote and isolated communities.

The province will dole out vaccines as they receive them, King said. The province will open more vaccination clinics in the coming weeks to keep up with demand, she said.

The announcement comes as the province scales back its inoculation plans. In many communities, including Toronto, the general public was to start receiving shots on Monday.

On Friday, however, the province announced that only those who belonged in certain priority groups to get the shot, due to a shortage of the vaccine.

Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews, who was also at the news conference, acknowledged the rollout of the vaccination program wasn't going as smoothly as expected.

"I want Ontarians to know that we're working hard to protect you from H1N1, and we're going to keep working hard until we get this right," said King.

Matthews said the number of flu-shot clinics across the province has doubled to 100 from 50 .

Health officials are aiming to inoculate 2.2 million people by the end of the week, she said.