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Saskatchewan health officials investigating if two more people died from H1N1
By Pamela Cowan, Leader-PostNovember 11, 2009 12:02 AM
REGINA ? Health officials are investigating if two more Saskatchewan residents have died from the H1N1 influenza.
That was the word from the province?s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Moira McKinnon, at a news conference on Tuesday. She noted that four Saskatchewan residents died in the first wave and one death has been attributed to the virus in this latest wave.
McKinnon said a handful of patients are being treated in intensive care units throughout the province.
?I can?t give you an exact number because it?s changing each day, but it?s not stressing the intensive care units,? she said. ?They are, as usual, full to capacity, but the intensive care units are managing.?
The Five Hills Health Region has cancelled some elective surgeries to ensure its hospitals are ready to treat an influx of patients and a couple of other health regions are considering the same action, but McKinnon said those are isolated incidents.
She outlined the provincial expansion of the H1N1 flu vaccination campaign that will now include the primary caregivers of babies under six months, which in most cases means one or both parents. Children under six months cannot be immunized because their immune system is not mature enough, but vaccinating their parents will help protect them, McKinnon said.
Other risk groups that can start getting their H1N1 vaccinations include people of all ages who are immune-compromised and people under 35 with underlying health conditions. Cowan, Pam 11/10/09 There is more detail on the expansion of high-risk groups in my other H1N1 story for Thursday?s paper so can you either run these stories together or refer readers to the page that story will run on? Cheers, Pam
To date, the province has distributed 194,000 vaccines to health regions. On Monday, Saskatchewan received an additional 65,000 doses of vaccine, which is being distributed to health regions throughout the province. McKinnon said vaccine supplies are low at some clinics, but they are being refreshed.
?We?re not going to have the major (clinic) shutdowns like other provinces,? she said.
By the middle of next week, McKinnon expects 28 per cent of the province?s population, or around 280,000 residents, will have been vaccinated. She said without the vaccine, 30 per cent of the population would have contracted the virus by now.
?We?re not seeing the same pressure on our hospitals that Manitoba and Alberta are starting to report,? she said. ?We are seeing some pressure, particularly in emergency departments. A couple of regions have opened up influenza assessment sites and they are running smoothly.?
If all goes according to plan, mass immunization clinics will be held throughout the province near the end of the month.
?We encourage everyone to get a vaccination,? McKinnon said.
There is a lot of H1N1 infection in the province and no one is immune ? not even the province?s top medical official.
McKinnon believes she had H1N1 last week so she has some immunity, but when the vaccine is available to the general public she plans to get immunized because it acts as a booster
http://www.leaderpost.com/health/Sa...more+people+died+from+H1N1/2208664/story.html
By Pamela Cowan, Leader-PostNovember 11, 2009 12:02 AM
REGINA ? Health officials are investigating if two more Saskatchewan residents have died from the H1N1 influenza.
That was the word from the province?s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Moira McKinnon, at a news conference on Tuesday. She noted that four Saskatchewan residents died in the first wave and one death has been attributed to the virus in this latest wave.
McKinnon said a handful of patients are being treated in intensive care units throughout the province.
?I can?t give you an exact number because it?s changing each day, but it?s not stressing the intensive care units,? she said. ?They are, as usual, full to capacity, but the intensive care units are managing.?
The Five Hills Health Region has cancelled some elective surgeries to ensure its hospitals are ready to treat an influx of patients and a couple of other health regions are considering the same action, but McKinnon said those are isolated incidents.
She outlined the provincial expansion of the H1N1 flu vaccination campaign that will now include the primary caregivers of babies under six months, which in most cases means one or both parents. Children under six months cannot be immunized because their immune system is not mature enough, but vaccinating their parents will help protect them, McKinnon said.
Other risk groups that can start getting their H1N1 vaccinations include people of all ages who are immune-compromised and people under 35 with underlying health conditions. Cowan, Pam 11/10/09 There is more detail on the expansion of high-risk groups in my other H1N1 story for Thursday?s paper so can you either run these stories together or refer readers to the page that story will run on? Cheers, Pam
To date, the province has distributed 194,000 vaccines to health regions. On Monday, Saskatchewan received an additional 65,000 doses of vaccine, which is being distributed to health regions throughout the province. McKinnon said vaccine supplies are low at some clinics, but they are being refreshed.
?We?re not going to have the major (clinic) shutdowns like other provinces,? she said.
By the middle of next week, McKinnon expects 28 per cent of the province?s population, or around 280,000 residents, will have been vaccinated. She said without the vaccine, 30 per cent of the population would have contracted the virus by now.
?We?re not seeing the same pressure on our hospitals that Manitoba and Alberta are starting to report,? she said. ?We are seeing some pressure, particularly in emergency departments. A couple of regions have opened up influenza assessment sites and they are running smoothly.?
If all goes according to plan, mass immunization clinics will be held throughout the province near the end of the month.
?We encourage everyone to get a vaccination,? McKinnon said.
There is a lot of H1N1 infection in the province and no one is immune ? not even the province?s top medical official.
McKinnon believes she had H1N1 last week so she has some immunity, but when the vaccine is available to the general public she plans to get immunized because it acts as a booster
http://www.leaderpost.com/health/Sa...more+people+died+from+H1N1/2208664/story.html
