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Source: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Calgary+homeless+will+H1N1+vaccine/2142551/story.html
Calgary homeless will get H1N1 vaccine
Mustard Seed shelter plans to offer shots on Nov. 10
By Richard Cuthbertson, Calgary HeraldOctober 25, 2009 8:10 AM
Homeless shelters in Alberta will soon be able to offer H1N1 immunization on site, as there are concerns the province's homeless population is particularly vulnerable to the virus.
Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Yvonne Fritz said there are a number of good reasons to vaccinate homeless people at shelters.
"Their identification, transportation, their complex health needs--it's just important that they be vaccinated on site," Fritz said in an interview Saturday night, as she was attending a fundraising gala in support of the Mustard Seed Street Ministry.
"That is going to occur and it's going to occur fairly quickly," she said of the immunization plan for the province's homeless.
Myron Krause, the Mustard Seed's executive director, said Saturday that people staying at the shelter live in close proximity to each other and often have compromised health due to the challenges of being homeless.
He said the Mustard Seed will be offering immunization for H1N1 on Nov. 10.
"The idea is to make it accessible as possible for the people that we serve and, hopefully, as soon as possible," Krause said.
He said the Mustard Seed is in discussions in the hopes of bumping that date forward.
"We have a highly susceptible population group to flu," Krause said.
"We're hearing that there's symptoms hitting our city at this point, already," he said. "We just wouldn't want that to spread in the shelter system or in the inner-city community."
Krause said the Mustard Seed does have a pandemic plan, which shelter officials will review today with a representative of the province.
There are already sanitizers in all main entries to the Mustard Seed, and clients are told to report any symptoms.
"We have some limitations in our shelter," he said. "There's only so much space to quarantine people.
"But as much as we can, if people have symptoms, we put them in their own area and try and keep them removed from the rest of the population," said Krause.
rcuthbertson@theherald. canwest.com
Calgary homeless will get H1N1 vaccine
Mustard Seed shelter plans to offer shots on Nov. 10
By Richard Cuthbertson, Calgary HeraldOctober 25, 2009 8:10 AM
Homeless shelters in Alberta will soon be able to offer H1N1 immunization on site, as there are concerns the province's homeless population is particularly vulnerable to the virus.
Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Yvonne Fritz said there are a number of good reasons to vaccinate homeless people at shelters.
"Their identification, transportation, their complex health needs--it's just important that they be vaccinated on site," Fritz said in an interview Saturday night, as she was attending a fundraising gala in support of the Mustard Seed Street Ministry.
"That is going to occur and it's going to occur fairly quickly," she said of the immunization plan for the province's homeless.
Myron Krause, the Mustard Seed's executive director, said Saturday that people staying at the shelter live in close proximity to each other and often have compromised health due to the challenges of being homeless.
He said the Mustard Seed will be offering immunization for H1N1 on Nov. 10.
"The idea is to make it accessible as possible for the people that we serve and, hopefully, as soon as possible," Krause said.
He said the Mustard Seed is in discussions in the hopes of bumping that date forward.
"We have a highly susceptible population group to flu," Krause said.
"We're hearing that there's symptoms hitting our city at this point, already," he said. "We just wouldn't want that to spread in the shelter system or in the inner-city community."
Krause said the Mustard Seed does have a pandemic plan, which shelter officials will review today with a representative of the province.
There are already sanitizers in all main entries to the Mustard Seed, and clients are told to report any symptoms.
"We have some limitations in our shelter," he said. "There's only so much space to quarantine people.
"But as much as we can, if people have symptoms, we put them in their own area and try and keep them removed from the rest of the population," said Krause.
rcuthbertson@theherald. canwest.com