Saskatchewan health officials have outlined the latest risk group to be added to the priority list for receiving the H1N1 vaccination.
During a media conference on Tuesday afternoon, Provincial Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Moira McKinnon announced that primary caregivers of babies under six months will be immunized. In most cases this will result in the immunization of both parents, but this group of primary caregivers also extends to day care providers who are spending hours with children under six months.
"Children under six months cannot be immunized because their immune system is not mature enough yet, and vaccinating their parents will help protect them," Dr. McKinnon stated.
The availability of this group to receive shots in the Cypress Health Region will be announced in the coming days.
She also suggested the next roll out of the vaccine would extend to individuals 35 to 65 with underlying health issues, plus finishing school age children before being opened to the general public for mass immunization clinics.
The Ministry of Health continues to make progress in their H1N1 flu vaccination campaign, with an estimated 22 per cent of the population currently vaccinated and that total expected to rise by 28 per cent by mid next week. A total of 194,000 vaccines have been shared to the health regions, and another 65,000 were going out on Tuesday.
Dr. McKinnon also provided additional details on the health concerns which would place individuals in the higher risk group categories for receiving an H1N1 flu shot.
According to the the updated details, conditions which qualify as placing an individual into the underlying health issues risk group include the following categories:
* People of all ages who are immune compromised, including those diagnosed with or receiving treatment for:
- Chronic renal failure;
- receiving Hemodialysis;
- Leukemia, Lymphoma;
- Receiving Chemotherapy;
- Receiving Radiotherapy;
- Transplant recipients (Solid organ, bone marrow, etc.);
- HIV/AIDS;
- Congenital immunodeficiency; and
On high dose steroids or other medications causing immunosuppression.
* People under 35 with underlying health conditions such as:
- Asthma;
- Diabetes and other endocrine disorders;
- Neurological disorders;
- Chronic Heart and Lung Disease;
- Non White Cell Haematogical disorders (eg: sickle cell etc.);
- Obesity;
- Cancer (other than leukemia or lymphoma) and not on chemotherapy; and
- Liver disease.
Provincial clinics are still taking other high risk categories, including health care workers, pregnant and post-partum women (up to four weeks), and children from six months to Grade Six who have not yet been immunized.
Health Canada's Flu Watch website is reporting that Saskatchewan recorded 443 confirmed H1N1 cases during the week of Oct. 25 to 31, more than doubling the total of 605 cumulative cases confirmed between Aug. 30 and Oct. 31.
FluWatch also notes there were 105 school outbreaks in Saskatchewan and 710 school outbreaks nation wide.
They report that for the week ending Oct. 31 the nation recorded 661 hospitalizations and eight deaths resulting from the H1N1 pandemic.
