H1N1 clinics wrapping up in Fredericton

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan  

The New Brunswick government’s last mass H1N1 vaccination clinic wrapped up on Dec. 19.

According to data collected by the Department of Health throughout the mass vaccination period which began in early October, 62 per cent of New Brunswickers, or 460,000 people, were immunized against the virus.

“Sixty two per cent is a very, very good outcome from our vaccine program,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eilish Cleary said at a press conference on Dec. 17 in Fredericton. She continued by listing vaccination numbers for age and ethnic groups in the province.

“We saw about 2,000 laboratory confirmed cases since the beginning of the onset. We had 169 hospitalizations that we confirmed to be due to H1N1. We did have 35 people that were severe enough to be hospitalized and admitted to ICU and seven deaths. It’s impossible to predict actually how many would have died if we hadn’t had the vaccine program, but it could have been in the hundreds, certainly thousands across Canada,” she said.

Though mass clinics are no longer taking place throughout the province, vaccinations are still available through organizations like the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON), centralized clinics and some family physicians.

Judy Bursey, a registered nurse with the Victorian Order of Nurses, said the VON location in Saint John administered 62 shots alone on Dec. 31. She said that larger clinics held through the organization will depend on demand for the vaccine.

“It just depends on the demand because we still have vaccine and, of course, you probably know that there was a young man who died a few days ago and that will increase the demand. We basically will provide clinics as there is a demand,” she said.

The H1N1 virus claimed the life of a 27-year old New Brunswick man from Rothesay on Dec. 28. The individual had a history of asthma and pneumonia, with breathing troubles prior to contracting the virus.

“They told us things were winding down, but now, this boy has died. We don’t know for sure. It’s still important for people to get immunized, people who haven’t been immunized, because it’s affecting young people,” Bursey said.

As for the other 38 per cent of New Brunswickers who have yet to be immunized, Bursey speculated that older people who were initially told that they were not susceptible to the virus and young men in their late teens and early twenties are among that number.

“Also, they’re saying that young men are really the predominant group that have not gone for the vaccine. They are people that really do not usually look after their health anyway. They don’t see any need to be vaccinated because they are young and healthy. I think that’s the reason and I think that’s the group that should really be pushed [to be vaccinated],” she said. Bursey herself has a son who is 23. She encouraged him to get the vaccine, but said there “probably weren’t many of his friends who got [the vaccination].”

According to data collected by the Department of Health, only 37 per cent of men over 19 were immunized.

Though clinics are wrapping up and pandemic panic is winding down, Public Health still encourages everyone to take appropriate flu prevention measures such as staying home if you are sick and washing your hands often.

For more information about H1N1 by calling the 24-hour H1N1 line, at 1-800-580-0038 or visiting gnb.ca/flu.