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The H1N1 pandemic appears to have hit a plateau in south and central British Columbia but continues to grow in the north, B.C. public health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said Thursday.
The plateau has bolstered confidence among health professionals there might not be a third wave of the virus in the spring, which typically occurs in a pandemic.
But while indicators are positive the virus is on the wane, Kendall still urged British Columbians to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.
?It does look like things are levelling off,? Kendall said.
?But by no means should it be a signal people don?t need to be vaccinated. I?m not predicting a third wave, but the higher percentage of people vaccinated will help lessen the impact of the virus on the down-slope, and if there is a third wave.?
Kendall said B.C. will be distributing another 250,000 vaccine dosages starting Monday: 135,000 dosages of the adjuvanted vaccine and 118,000 of the unadjuvanted vaccine. He said the latter is more than enough to meet the requirement to have all pregnant women vaccinated in B.C.
The adjuvanted vaccine is for the general public.
Health Canada is also considering allowing the unadjuvanted vaccine to be authorized for use for people who are not pregnant women, and if that happens ?this gives us an additional whack of vaccine,? said Kendall, who added he would like to see it targeted to children and youths five to 19 years old and to people over 65 with chronic health problems.
He said although healthy children and youth have ?higher attack rates? for contracting the virus, they are at the lowest rate for complications. This was why B.C., unlike other provinces, chose not to put them in the first priority groups to get the vaccine.
?We hope to include kids as soon as we can,? Kendall said.
?My message to groups not eligible for vaccination is, we will get there and we?ll get there as soon as we can.?
He said a recent medical trial has confirmed healthy children between the ages of three and 10 do not need to have a full dose of the vaccine.
Kendall said half a dose provides an ?acceptable level of protection? but children six months and under and children with underlying health conditions should receive the full dose, half as soon as possible and the second half 21 days after the first shot.
Kendall refused to comment on the case of a Richmond woman, Mae Mah, 51, who died in hospital after twice being sent home after complaining of shortness of breath.
Mah went to the emergency room at Richmond General Hospital Oct. 31 while suffering an asthma attack.
Her family told CBC News that Mah was sent home that day but had to be taken to hospital by ambulance the next day after again experiencing shortness of breath and a fever. Family members said she was given Tylenol and sent home again.
On Nov. 1, Mah collapsed at home and was taken back to hospital by ambulance, they said. She was admitted to the intensive care unit and put on a ventilator but died the next day.
The Vancouver Coast Health Authority, which oversees Richmond Hospital, is reviewing Mah?s death, as it would do routinely in situations like this, said spokeswoman Anna Marie D?Angelo.
She noted the family has not contacted the health authority directly to make a complaint, but officials do plan to contact the family as part of its review, which is expected to be completed next week.
She confirmed that the person who died did have an underlying medical health condition and had contracted H1N1.
She said the family is also entitled to make a complaint to the Patient Care Review Board.
Asked whether Mah had been vaccinated, D?Angelo said she did not know. But she noted that people with asthma or other breathing conditions are a priority group entitled to receive the H1N1 vaccine.
Kendall said anyone with asthma has been included in the priority groups for receiving the vaccine for the past three weeks and there should be enough dosages available for this group.
Speaking generally, Kendall said he believes the hospital systems has done a ?pretty good job? of coping with an influx of patients and staff off sick with the H1N1 virus.
He acknowledged there were some ?glitches? in the early days of the vaccination program, causing long line-ups, because ?we weren?t in the business of doing mass vaccination clinics.? As well, the 811 public call number was overwhelmed early on, getting as many as 4,000 calls daily.
?That was more than we were set up to deal with,? said Kendall.
He said additional staff are now manning the lines and demand on emergency care rooms, at least in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, has leveled off.
Asked about a recent poll that showed 65 per cent of Canadians felt the media had exaggerated the pandemic, Kendall disagreed.
?We?ve been walking a delicate line between over-hyping it and being responsible,? said Kendall, adding he was concerned that if the media were complacent about H1N1, Canadians might not feel it was urgent to be vaccinated.
He said B.C. has set aside $80 million to deal with the H1N1 pandemic, that costs are ?still well within that envelope,? and that he did not think there will be cost overruns.
The plateau has bolstered confidence among health professionals there might not be a third wave of the virus in the spring, which typically occurs in a pandemic.
But while indicators are positive the virus is on the wane, Kendall still urged British Columbians to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.
?It does look like things are levelling off,? Kendall said.
?But by no means should it be a signal people don?t need to be vaccinated. I?m not predicting a third wave, but the higher percentage of people vaccinated will help lessen the impact of the virus on the down-slope, and if there is a third wave.?
Kendall said B.C. will be distributing another 250,000 vaccine dosages starting Monday: 135,000 dosages of the adjuvanted vaccine and 118,000 of the unadjuvanted vaccine. He said the latter is more than enough to meet the requirement to have all pregnant women vaccinated in B.C.
The adjuvanted vaccine is for the general public.
Health Canada is also considering allowing the unadjuvanted vaccine to be authorized for use for people who are not pregnant women, and if that happens ?this gives us an additional whack of vaccine,? said Kendall, who added he would like to see it targeted to children and youths five to 19 years old and to people over 65 with chronic health problems.
He said although healthy children and youth have ?higher attack rates? for contracting the virus, they are at the lowest rate for complications. This was why B.C., unlike other provinces, chose not to put them in the first priority groups to get the vaccine.
?We hope to include kids as soon as we can,? Kendall said.
?My message to groups not eligible for vaccination is, we will get there and we?ll get there as soon as we can.?
He said a recent medical trial has confirmed healthy children between the ages of three and 10 do not need to have a full dose of the vaccine.
Kendall said half a dose provides an ?acceptable level of protection? but children six months and under and children with underlying health conditions should receive the full dose, half as soon as possible and the second half 21 days after the first shot.
Kendall refused to comment on the case of a Richmond woman, Mae Mah, 51, who died in hospital after twice being sent home after complaining of shortness of breath.
Mah went to the emergency room at Richmond General Hospital Oct. 31 while suffering an asthma attack.
Her family told CBC News that Mah was sent home that day but had to be taken to hospital by ambulance the next day after again experiencing shortness of breath and a fever. Family members said she was given Tylenol and sent home again.
On Nov. 1, Mah collapsed at home and was taken back to hospital by ambulance, they said. She was admitted to the intensive care unit and put on a ventilator but died the next day.
The Vancouver Coast Health Authority, which oversees Richmond Hospital, is reviewing Mah?s death, as it would do routinely in situations like this, said spokeswoman Anna Marie D?Angelo.
She noted the family has not contacted the health authority directly to make a complaint, but officials do plan to contact the family as part of its review, which is expected to be completed next week.
She confirmed that the person who died did have an underlying medical health condition and had contracted H1N1.
She said the family is also entitled to make a complaint to the Patient Care Review Board.
Asked whether Mah had been vaccinated, D?Angelo said she did not know. But she noted that people with asthma or other breathing conditions are a priority group entitled to receive the H1N1 vaccine.
Kendall said anyone with asthma has been included in the priority groups for receiving the vaccine for the past three weeks and there should be enough dosages available for this group.
Speaking generally, Kendall said he believes the hospital systems has done a ?pretty good job? of coping with an influx of patients and staff off sick with the H1N1 virus.
He acknowledged there were some ?glitches? in the early days of the vaccination program, causing long line-ups, because ?we weren?t in the business of doing mass vaccination clinics.? As well, the 811 public call number was overwhelmed early on, getting as many as 4,000 calls daily.
?That was more than we were set up to deal with,? said Kendall.
He said additional staff are now manning the lines and demand on emergency care rooms, at least in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, has leveled off.
Asked about a recent poll that showed 65 per cent of Canadians felt the media had exaggerated the pandemic, Kendall disagreed.
?We?ve been walking a delicate line between over-hyping it and being responsible,? said Kendall, adding he was concerned that if the media were complacent about H1N1, Canadians might not feel it was urgent to be vaccinated.
He said B.C. has set aside $80 million to deal with the H1N1 pandemic, that costs are ?still well within that envelope,? and that he did not think there will be cost overruns.
