No plan to give Afghan detainees H1N1 shots
DND statement appears to reverse position announced by surgeon
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 10:50 PM ET
CBC News
Health officials are urging Canadians to wait to receive their H1N1 vaccination to allow priority groups to be inoculated first. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)Afghan detainees in Canadian military custody will be offered H1N1 flu vaccinations based on medical need on a case-by-case basis and currently there is no plan to vaccinate detainees, the Department of National Defence says.
No vaccine has been provided to any detainee, the department added in a brief statement released late Tuesday.
The move appears to reverse a position stated by Task Force Surgeon Cmdr. Rob Briggs who said earlier Tuesday that detainees will be offered H1N1 flu vaccinations beginning Wednesday.
"That is something we are going to press forward with, at least offering whether or not they want the immunization," he told The Canadian Press.
Briggs said that when medical staff in Kandahar Airfield sought legal advice, they were told that under the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war should receive the same treatment as Canadian soldiers.
"We have had a legal opinion that states yes, indeed, we should be offering — on a voluntary basis — detainees H1N1 [vaccinations] because it's being seen as a preventive measure," said Briggs.
Canada considers the war in Afghanistan a counter-insurgency operation that is not governed by the Geneva Conventions.
Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq was taken aback by the decision, particularly given that all Canadians who want to be inoculated may not be given shots before the end of December.
"We've always said all along that ensuring that Canadians receive the vaccine is our priority," Aglukkaq told reporters in Ottawa. "Personally, I'm very disturbed by the news, and I can say that we did not make this outrageous decision, and I've asked my officials to look into that."
Aglukkaq said she found out about the plan to inoculate Afghan prisoners only an hour before her news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Asked whether the detainees received vaccine left over from that shipped to Canadian Forces, Aglukkaq said she is not making any assumptions and has asked her officials to look into it.
By the end of this week, about 8.5 million doses of the vaccine will be distributed to provinces and territories, Aglukkaq said.
By the middle of next week, it's expected Canadians will receive all of those doses, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer.
H1N1 claims younger victims
Butler-Jones also said the median age of people dying from H1N1-related causes is in the low 50s, meaning half are younger than that age. This sets the pandemic influenza A virus apart from seasonal flu, which mostly claims elderly people.
The chance of seniors getting sick in the first place from H1N1 is very small, Butler-Jones added. They seem to have some immunity and tend to show milder H1N1 symptoms than their children.
Health officials across Canada continue to focus on vaccinating people at highest risk of complications, but risk-assessment differs among jurisdictions.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the priority group includes people between the ages of 25 and 39 with chronic respiratory conditions, some cancer patients and some patients in hospital.
Provincial and regional health authorities are also looking at expanding mass immunization clinics beyond those priority groups.
Ontario's top medical officer, Dr. Arlene King, announced Tuesday that province's next shipment of vaccine will allow a limited expansion of the immunization program this week to cover first responders such as police, firefighters and frontline corrections workers at institutions.
In eastern Ontario, some flu clinics are closed due to a short-term shortage, while flu clinics in the northwest part of the province are open to the general population.
Nova Scotia is also expanding its priority list this week, but provincial Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said the vaccination campaign may not finish until February.
These decisions should take into account local factors, such as the type of patients showing up in intensive care units locally, rather than simply the national snapshot, Butler-Jones advised.
Both Butler-Jones and Aglukkaq said they will wait to the get their shots because the focus is on the highest priority groups.
Antivirals such as Tamiflu and Relenza are available, and people with underlying medical conditions or anyone who falls sick after starting to feel better should seek medical attention, he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
