Sleeves rolled up for anti-H1N1 shots

WINNIPEG – Manitobans start rolling up their sleeves this morning for the biggest mass immunization in provincial history.

At a clinic on Provencher Blvd. , one of 12 opening in Winnipeg today, a pregnant woman sat at 8:30 a.m., awaiting the 9:30 a.m. opening.

Officials had set up 12 immunization tables, a 50-seat waiting area and a large recovery area.

"The process is we send you to nurses, you get the shot and then are sent to the recovery area to wait 15 minutes to make sure all is well,"said Susan Stratford, community area director for St. Vital & St. Boniface.

The priority groups today are people with heart disease, aboriginal Metis background and children over six months and under 5 years of age.

With close to half of Canadians saying in a recent poll that they won’t get vaccinated for the H1N1 virus, two Manitoba families who’ve lived through it have different opinions on H1N1 flu immunization.

"Take the opportunity and take these shots now," said David Chartrand, whose baby grandson Ronald had confirmed H1N1 virus earlier this year that made it difficult for him to breathe.

The nine-month-old has a rare medical syndrome and has spent much of his young life in hospital, said Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Chartrand said he worries about hospitals being overwhelmed if people get severe H1N1 instead of the vaccine. "Enough studies prove this can prevent great harm or death," he said.

Scott and Michelle Myers, whose baby daughter Rhea spent weeks on a ventilator with severe H1N1 virus earlier this year, aren’t sure.

"They’re telling everyone to get it but I’ve heard a few different people" who have their doubts, Scott said Sunday. His aunt, a nurse, told him that vaccines usually undergo a lot more testing, he said. Doctors have told the Myers that Rhea is now immune to the H1N1 virus, and she would not need to get the vaccine, he said.

The toddler spent weeks in the pediatric intensive care unit this summer hooked up to a ventilator.

Myers said he and his wife Michelle weren’t sure if they’d be getting the H1N1 vaccine but likely would not.

He’s not alone. More than half the people who responded to a Free Press poll and an Ipsos-Reid poll, and a recent national survey, have said they will not be getting the H1N1 vaccine.

A Free Press web poll found that of 2,458 votes cast, 37 per cent said they would be getting the H1N1 vaccine and 62 per cent said they would not.

Chartrand said he, his wife and grandkids will be getting the H1N1 vaccine this morning at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain.

"There are strong indicators of potential harm if you don’t have it," said Chartrand. He’s heard about H1N1 vaccine concerns, but he’s also seen the toll the first wave of the virus had on its victims and the health care system.

"The positive outweighs the negative. From my perspective, we have to do whatever we can to protect our families," he said.

Research has shown Métis people have a higher incidence of chronic health conditions than most Manitobans, and especially need to protect themselves.

"If we don’t do something to prepare for the pandemic while we can, there could be such devastation that there will be nothing we can do about the death toll and its impact on our families," Chartrand said.

The MMF is waiting for approval from the province to send community liaison workers to 2,242 homes in Métis communities around the province to let people know about the pandemic and the H1N1 shot, he said. The province is also setting up vaccination clinics in Métis communities, he said. Unlike First Nations, Métis communities don’t have federally funded nursing stations or health clinics, said Chartrand.

"We’ve been working hard with the province" to come up with a plan to help Métis living in communities far from doctors and hospitals get vaccinated," Chartrand said. He’s hoping the details are finalized this week. A surge in severe H1N1 cases with more sick people than ventilators is a disturbing scenario that can be avoided, said Chartrand.

"At the end of the day, we have to protect ourselves."

Clinics will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

Fort Garry

University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus; Room 210, Multi-Purpose Room, 2nd Floor University Centre

Assiniboine South

St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church; 2255 Grant Ave.

Downtown

Portage Place Shopping Centre, 2nd floor; 393 Portage Ave.

Seven Oaks

Garden City Shopping Centre (next to TD Bank); 2305 McPhillips St.

Inkster

Fred Douglas Lodge; 1275 Burrows Ave.

Point Douglas

St. Joseph’s Parish Hall; 515 College Ave.

River East

Holy Eucharist Parish Centre; 460 Munroe Ave.

River Heights

Grant Park Shopping Centre (theatre entrance); 1120 Grant Ave.

St. Boniface

Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain; 340 Provencher Blvd.

St. James

St. Paul The Apostle Parish; 2400 Portage Ave.

St. Vital

Indo-Canadian Arts and Cultural Centre; 479 St. Mary’s Rd.

Transcona

DeFehr Logistics Building; 770 Pandora Ave. East.