“We don’t have all the vaccine we need in one go. Eventually, and we have been promised, we will have enough vaccine for the whole country, for everybody to receive vaccine. But, being as it’s coming in batches, we are basing a lot of how we sequence out this vaccine on the kind of surveillance and epidemiology that we are seeing, the kind of pattern then illness is producing.”
The four days of targeted H1N1 immunization clinics run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at the Wheatland Mall in Swift Current. Regier said there were a variety of benefits to having a single location for this first batch of vaccination clinics.
“Why did we pick Swift Current? It’s central. It’s easy for us to move supplies around. We have lots of resources here. And it’s just easier for us to work there. We will be rolling out to the other locations,” he explained. “So if somebody absolutely can’t get into Swift Current next week, we will be in their locales.”
He explained that a numbering system will be utilized in order to distribute the set number of doses being provided each day.
“To avoid trying to have mass disappointment and line-ups that people stand in lines for long periods of time and then are disappointed when we have to close the doors, we are going to be planning that we will be staging the amount of vaccine available every day. We will be using a numbering system that when people arrive they will be given a number and put through the line. So if you’re unable to get the vaccine day one, and you are whatever number in the line, you will be a priority for the next day.”
The Health Region realizes this will mean a driving commitment for those wishing the shot, but this plan seems to be the best way to provide immunizations.
“We are encouraging everybody that would like the vaccine to come to see us at the Wheatland Mall those days. We’re staffing up for it so that we have adequate nursing staff available so that people shouldn’t have to wait in line that long,” Regier said. He added that they are hearing reports of 20 minute to one hour wait times in other areas.
“Bear with us. The mass population wants this and we are expecting line-ups, and we will try to deal with those line-ups the best we can. We really want people to understand that we will vaccinate them as quickly as we can, and we will roll the vaccine out as it’s rolled into our location.
“We need people to remain calm. We need people to understand that we are limited by the amount of vaccine that we have, and we will do our best to get that vaccine out as quickly as possible.”
Receiving immunizations is important, as the peak of the second wave of H1N1 is anticipated to hit over the coming weeks.
“Peaks will occur in a typical second wave anytime from four to six weeks into the second wave. And as I said, we are pretty much into the second wave – the first or second week - so within a couple of weeks,” Dr. Torr explained.
Regier added that there are no longer any specific locations where H1N1 is restricted to, as the entire Southwest is experiencing flu outbreaks.
“Originally that southern corner was a real hot spot for us. We are now, through the surveillance programs and the lab reports that we are getting, there isn’t really a spot not in our health region that isn’t having lots of activity related to influenza-like illness.”
He noted there were approximately 30 “confirmed” cases of H1N1 as of Friday morning, but that number was not reflective of the number of actual cases because the region is no longer recommending testing for H1N1.
“We know that we have influenza-like illness in our community. We know we have positive H1N1. We know we have positive normal seasonal influenza. We have lots of common colds going around. There’s lots of chronic illnesses that are going around, around upper and lower respiratory track infections.
“So really at this point the number is irrelevant, it’s the preventative measures knowing that this is a community-acquired illness. It can be spread faster in communities, and is. You have as much chance of going to a grocery store to acquire this illness as you would a healthcare facility.”
Dr. Torr said that the high percentage of flu-like cases which doctors are treating are over 90 per cent H1N1.
“Most cases of H1N1 are actually presenting as mild to moderate, which essentially means that they are able to recover by resting at home – taking in enough fluids. The fluids is a very important thing because many of the cases that have been admitted have had a few hours of fluid therapy and then been able to go home. So if one is able to take fluids, not gulp everything in one go, but frequent fluids, and to rest at home, many of them will recover within a few days.”
The public is also being reminded they help maintain the strength of their immune systems through steps like proper nutrition, proper exercise, getting enough sleep, reducing stress, and other self care steps. In addition, they again stressed hygiene steps such as frequent hand washing, plus coughing or sneezing into your elbow rather than into your hands.
As of Friday, the Health Region was scheduling their first two general population immunization schedules for Nov. 10 in Shaunavon and Leader, and Nov. 12 at Maple Creek and Eastend. As these schedules could change with little advance notice, the public is advised to visit www.cypresshealth.ca for the most up-to-date flu clinic details.
