Nurse testifies she vaccinated people after H1N1 clinics closed
CBC News
Posted: Jan 17, 2013 3:33 PM ET
Last Updated: Jan 17, 2013 10:03 PM ET
Related
Related Stories
The inquiry into queue-jumping in Alberta's health-care system wrapped up Thursday after hearing from several nurses who immunized people after public clinics closed due to a shortage of the H1N1 vaccine.
Christine Westerlund, an AHS regional manager, was in charge of one of the mass vaccination clinics in Edmonton.
She told the inquiry she knew nurses were vaccinating family members during their breaks at the clinics.
She says at the time, there was no policy against the process.
Within days, the province shut down the clinics because of shortages.
Earlier Thursday, Susan Smith testified.
She was in charge of one of eight public H1N1 flu clinics in Edmonton and was responsible for making sure the supply was used appropriately at her clinic.
The clinical development nurse said she was concerned about wasting the vaccine, which she called a precious resource with a short, 24-hour shelf life.
Clinical development nurse Susan Smith testified today that she vaccinated more than a dozen people after the public H1N1 vaccination clinics were closed due to a shortage of the vaccine. (Bryan Labby/CBC)The day after a shortage of the vaccine forced the closure of the mass vaccine clinics across the province in October 2009, Smith went to a closed clinic in Edmonton, letting in and vaccinating about 15 people.
Smith said she felt she had the authorization to do it.
When asked who approved it, she said she couldn’t recall. Asked if the people who received the vaccine were acquaintances or family, again she said she couldn’t recall.
Smith said she would do it again, that immunizing people was more important than having the vaccine go to waste.
The inquiry was expected to wrap up this week but more allegations of queue-jumping have been sent to the inquiry’s staff who will investigate the allegations and potentially call more witnesses.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- 2 men jailed in Dominican wedding fight return to Canada
- Two Canadian men who were detained in the Dominican Republic for nearly three weeks after a post-wedding fight broke out at a resort have returned to Toronto, the latest step in a drama that the wife of one of the men said was "like a scene from the movies." more »
- MPs pass NDP motion on expenses, adjourn for summer
- One week after defeating Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's attempt to open MPs' expenses to public scrutiny, the NDP has won approval for a proposal of its own just before MPs voted unanimously to rise for the summer break. more »
- Are e-cigarettes safe to puff?
- As electronic or e-cigarettes grow in popularity, some health advocates want them to be regulated. more »
- Senators call for 'zero tolerance' on harassment in RCMP
- The RCMP should amend its code of conduct to explicitly define and prohibit harassment, a Senate committee is recommending in a newly tabled report. more »
Must Watch
Latest Health News Headlines
- Sexually transmitted oral cancers screened with early blood test
- Antibodies to a high-risk type of a virus that causes mouth and throat cancers when transmitted via oral sex can be detected in blood tests many years before onset of the disease, according to a World Health Organization-led team of researchers. more »
- Parents in dark about teens tanning, study suggests
- New research into the use of indoor tanning salons by Alberta teenagers suggests their parents are clueless about it. more »
- Celiacs, diabetics face hard food bank choices
- Life on a limited income is an extra challenge for people living with diabetes or celiac disease, a poverty survey by Women's Network PEI is finding. more »
- Mental illness afflicts most of Calgary's homeless, study finds
- A study has found there is an "overwhelmingly high" rate of undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric illness among Calgary's homeless population. more »
FEATURED HEALTH
- 2 men jailed in Dominican wedding fight return to Canada
- Police probe death of woman, 27, in Kelowna home
- Hundreds attend 'Change Brazil' protest in Vancouver
- Parents of son 'brutally beaten' playing hockey want charges
- Are e-cigarettes safe to puff?
- Huge ancient city at Angkor Wat revealed by lasers
- Most groups don't want return of Trudeau speaking fees
- Montreal mayor resigns amid corruption charges
- TV chef Nigella Lawson's husband cautioned by police for assault

