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Half of Alberta?s First Nations have received H1N1 shots
By Elise Stolte, edmontonjournal.comNovember 10, 2009 8:02 PM
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EDMONTON ? More than half of all people living on First Nations reserves in Alberta have already received a flu shot, protecting a group that was labelled high risk after the first wave of the pandemic in April.
There were initial transportation problems getting the vaccine to some remote Alberta communities, but ?they?ve worked through many of those problems,? said Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse, who handles the health portfolio for the national Assembly of First Nations.
?For the most part, First Nations communities are doing well with the rollout.?
About 52 per cent of the official on-reserve population has been immunized in Alberta, or about 34,000 people, say Health Canada statistics.
Aboriginal peoples make up less than four per cent of Canada?s population, but during the first wave of the pandemic, they accounted for about 12 per cent of the deaths.
That prompted Health Canada to label aboriginal people a high-risk group and give priority for the vaccine to remote and isolated communities.
The Assembly of First Nations and Health Canada hosted an online summit Tuesday on H1N1 and First Nations, which will also be available online for two weeks. Experts urged all people to get the vaccine as it becomes available.
But so far during this second wave of the virus, said Dr. Paul Gully, Health Canada?s senior medical adviser, ?we?re not seeing a disproportionate amount of people in First Nations communities with the disease.?
Poverty is the underlying reason for First Nations vulnerability to the virus, said Toulouse. One in five adults can?t access a doctor in their community, many people live in cramped and deteriorating housing, and 119 communities in Canada are still under drinking-water advisories, all of which contribute to the spread and severity of the disease.
When the pandemic has passed, First Nations will still be dealing with these issues, National Chief Shawn Atleo told the summit. Canada needs to build from here and move on, ?so that families no longer live from one crisis to another, one day to the next.?
Health clinics on most of Alberta?s 44 First Nations have been giving out the shots since Oct. 26, and many have since run out.
Driftpile First Nation, 250 kilometres north of Edmonton on the edge of Lesser Slave Lake, had half of its population of 1,000 vaccinated by the end of its third day. They had about 100 doses left over to catch those who missed the shot on a drop-in bases.
?We had a good turnout,? said health director Florence Willier. ?I?m just so glad people are taking it in stride.?
The clinic in Hobbema, just south of Edmonton along Highway 2A, has had about 25 per cent of the 14,000 people living on the four surrounding reserves vaccinated, said Randy Littlechild, director for Maskwacis Health Services. They ran out of vaccine and shut down this week, but are expecting another 1,500 doses on Thursday.
People were upset when the vaccine ran out at first, he said. ?But if there is no vaccine, what can you do about it??
While many people are sick and absentee rates at the local schools have risen in the past two weeks, so far most cases have been mild. Rates of illness have been roughly equal to neighbouring communities of Ponoka and Wetaskiwin.
http://www.working.com/ottawa/Half+Alberta+First+Nations+have+received+H1N1+shots/2208225/story.html
By Elise Stolte, edmontonjournal.comNovember 10, 2009 8:02 PM
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EDMONTON ? More than half of all people living on First Nations reserves in Alberta have already received a flu shot, protecting a group that was labelled high risk after the first wave of the pandemic in April.
There were initial transportation problems getting the vaccine to some remote Alberta communities, but ?they?ve worked through many of those problems,? said Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse, who handles the health portfolio for the national Assembly of First Nations.
?For the most part, First Nations communities are doing well with the rollout.?
About 52 per cent of the official on-reserve population has been immunized in Alberta, or about 34,000 people, say Health Canada statistics.
Aboriginal peoples make up less than four per cent of Canada?s population, but during the first wave of the pandemic, they accounted for about 12 per cent of the deaths.
That prompted Health Canada to label aboriginal people a high-risk group and give priority for the vaccine to remote and isolated communities.
The Assembly of First Nations and Health Canada hosted an online summit Tuesday on H1N1 and First Nations, which will also be available online for two weeks. Experts urged all people to get the vaccine as it becomes available.
But so far during this second wave of the virus, said Dr. Paul Gully, Health Canada?s senior medical adviser, ?we?re not seeing a disproportionate amount of people in First Nations communities with the disease.?
Poverty is the underlying reason for First Nations vulnerability to the virus, said Toulouse. One in five adults can?t access a doctor in their community, many people live in cramped and deteriorating housing, and 119 communities in Canada are still under drinking-water advisories, all of which contribute to the spread and severity of the disease.
When the pandemic has passed, First Nations will still be dealing with these issues, National Chief Shawn Atleo told the summit. Canada needs to build from here and move on, ?so that families no longer live from one crisis to another, one day to the next.?
Health clinics on most of Alberta?s 44 First Nations have been giving out the shots since Oct. 26, and many have since run out.
Driftpile First Nation, 250 kilometres north of Edmonton on the edge of Lesser Slave Lake, had half of its population of 1,000 vaccinated by the end of its third day. They had about 100 doses left over to catch those who missed the shot on a drop-in bases.
?We had a good turnout,? said health director Florence Willier. ?I?m just so glad people are taking it in stride.?
The clinic in Hobbema, just south of Edmonton along Highway 2A, has had about 25 per cent of the 14,000 people living on the four surrounding reserves vaccinated, said Randy Littlechild, director for Maskwacis Health Services. They ran out of vaccine and shut down this week, but are expecting another 1,500 doses on Thursday.
People were upset when the vaccine ran out at first, he said. ?But if there is no vaccine, what can you do about it??
While many people are sick and absentee rates at the local schools have risen in the past two weeks, so far most cases have been mild. Rates of illness have been roughly equal to neighbouring communities of Ponoka and Wetaskiwin.
http://www.working.com/ottawa/Half+Alberta+First+Nations+have+received+H1N1+shots/2208225/story.html