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OTTAWA — Critics are off-base to suggest the worst of the H1N1 pandemic is over or that vaccination is no longer needed, Canada’s chief public health officer says.
Between 30% and 40% of Canadians have been immunized for H1N1, Dr. David Butler-Jones told reporters Wednesday, but he still wants millions more to get the shot.
“There are critics who believe that vaccination plans should not continue. Unfortunately, there are Canadians who are denying themselves the benefits of immunization because they believe that we’ve reached a critical mass of our population with immunity,” he said.
“I question that logic. The whole point of medical and public health efforts is to improve health and reduce illness and suffering.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada plans a TV campaign to convince Canadians they should still get the shot. Despite weekly surveillance statistics showing a continued slowdown in flu activity in Canada, Butler-Jones said it would be “imprudent to declare a peak” to the disease.
The last flu pandemic that behaved like this was in 1957-58, he said, and it saw a surge in cases in late December, January and February.
Butler-Jones said he isn’t worried that some provinces are shutting public flu clinics, since the vaccine is now available at doctors’ offices and workplace clinics.
But even as they prepare to close, some of Ontario’s public H1N1 vaccine clinics have received a slap on the wrist from the provincial privacy commissioner over their treatment of citizens’ private information.
Responding to concerns originally raised by Sun Media, Ann Cavoukian’s office investigated why some clinics — notably in Ottawa and Toronto — demanded and swiped information not just from OHIP cards but from drivers’ licences when processing people for the H1N1 shot.
Cavoukian said she’s now satisfied the only information being collected electronically from drivers’ licences is the name and address of the licence-holder, which clinics gather in case they need to quickly contact a person after vaccination.
The Ontario government has also been asked to ensure consent forms around the province are consistent in the data they demand in future.
“There were variable practices at different public health units, a wide array of personal information was being gathered,” Cavoukian said.
christina.spencer@sunmedia.ca