H1N1 shot available to kids, pregnant

Posted By Frank Landry Sun Media

Posted 17 days ago

Doors reopened at the Strathcona Health Centre Thursday morning to resume administering H1N1 vaccine shots to children. Lori Poznikoff, a mother of two- and five-year-olds, said she lined up at 8 a.m. and had only waited 50 minutes in line before nearing the front. That was before the line, which went south to Baseline Road from the clinic s entrance, began to double back north along Brower Drive by 9 a.m.

Health officials were still scrambling this week to ensure easy access to the H1N1 vaccine on Thursday for Alberta's youngest residents.

Some people were waiting three hours or longer last week for a shot, before clinics closed Saturday due to dwindling supplies. At the time, there were no restrictions on who could receive the H1N1 vaccine.

"If we do have long lineups, we'll have to initiate processes to manage those," said Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health. "The details on that, we will make those available (Thursday), but right now they're still to be worked out."

Health officials were also bracing for confusion as H1N1 flu clinics reopened, most at 9 a.m. Only children under five but older than six months are eligible for a shot.

Proof of age will be required. The vaccine is not licensed for children under six months of age.

Starting today (Friday), pregnant women will also be eligible for vaccination. The shots will continue to be limited to the two risk groups until at least next week.

"We anticipate some people who aren't in the two risk groups we're talking about will show up," Predy said. "We will have people at each of the sites to be sure that if somebody does show up and they aren't in the risk groups, they will be notified of that."

More groups will be added to the eligibility list as the vaccine supply permits, said Predy.

"We'll be running the clinics as long as we need to just for these groups to try to get as many of them done as possible before we move into the next phase," he said.

Predy said pregnant women can get vaccinated right up to the day they give birth.

Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, acknowledged the province is "managing with a very tight supply" of vaccine.

Corriveau said he was vaccinated recently while visiting family in the Northwest Territories, where his wife still lives. He said he waited in line at a public clinic like everyone else., while Predy said he has not been vaccinated.

The province has stockpiled 200,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine and is expecting another 80,000 doses to arrive this week.