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Kids and seniors can now get H1N1 flu shots By Tim Foran METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP 3 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 13, 2009 · www.oakvillebeaver.com Halton Region's Health Department has begun providing H1N1 vaccine to seniors over 65 and youths aged five to 18 -- a major expansion of its practice to date of inoculating only high-risk people. The vaccine is now available to all seniors, not just those with chronic underlying conditions, according to a press release issued by the Region yesterday. It is also available to all children and teens, not just those over six months of age, but under five years, who had been included as priority high-risk cases. Healthy adults between 18 and 65, however, will likely have to wait until the end of this month before they can get inoculated as the vaccine becomes available for the general public, according to the health department. The Oakville clinic at the Halton Regional Centre, 151 Bronte Rd., will be open today from noon to 8 p.m. as well as Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. To handle the expected resurgence in take-up of the vaccine, the Region is opening additional clinics around Halton and extending hours of existing clinics. For updated information on clinic times, locations, eligible recipients and wait times, visit www.halton.ca or call 311. While the Region is now vaccinating school children over five years, it has ruled out going into the schools to do so. Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bob Nosal said the Region doesn't have the resources to vaccinate children at schools. "We have staff to run clinics or we have staff to go into schools, but we're not even close to having enough staff to do both," he said. Nosal said the community vaccination clinics have to stay open to vaccinate the elderly and other priority populations. Nosal said there are also other reasons why the health department, which has communicated with Halton's school boards on the issue, has decided against going into the schools. Because of the late reception of the H1N1 vaccine, many children have already been infected with the virus, which has been in a peak period of activity for more than two weeks. "It may be up to half of the kids may have already been affected," said Nosal. Many parents of children under 10 years of age also want to be with their children for the injection, which creates logistical impossibilities for the schools, said Nosal. And, public health nurses have reported many parents at clinics to date have had to hold, or even restrain, children under eight while they get their injection. Regulatory bodies wouldn't allow anybody, but a parent to restrain a child in a school clinic, said Nosal. He said parents can call their family physicians to vaccinate their children, if they don't want to attend the community clinics. Nosal said the inclusion of school children and those over 65 years of age on the priority list is expected to increase demand for the vaccine, but he said the Region is ready. Up until this week, the priority list had included six groups -- people under age 65 with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women, healthy children ages six months to under five years, some health care workers, people living in remote settings, and caregivers and household contacts of people in a high priority group who can't be immunized, such as infants under six months of age or those who may not respond to vaccines. No jumping H1N1 line for Appleby students By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF HEARING AID SPECIAL (Clients portion) *Some Conditions Apply * $ From Several Ontario private schools are giving their students preferential access to the H1N1 vaccine, but Appleby College is not one of them. Officials from St. Andrew's College in Aurora, Pickering College in Newmarket and the Hill Academy in Concord acknowledged Tuesday that some students and staff have received the H1N1 vaccine even though they are not among the high-risk groups designated by the province for early shots. One staff member at St. Andrew's said that it is vaccinating its 250 boarding students to prevent the spread of the virus at the all-boys school. They claimed the students are highrisk as they are living in close quarters. Appleby College has a large boarding population, with 265 students in Grades 9-12. Its high-risk students have been waiting in line at public clinics for vaccination. "We've left it up to the parents of our day students to get them vaccinated, and for the boarding students, we've been providing them with transportation to get them to the public health site, if they are a priority group, so they have to get in line just like everyone else," said Jody Boxall, chief financial officer. Dr. Arlene King, the chief medical officer Sign Up On Line of health for Ontario, confirmed earlier this week that private school students are not in the high-risk group. "Their (private school students) turn and (that of) the vast majority of the province has not yet come because of the fact that we have not yet had the availability and we have been concentrating on... the priority groups," King said. Appleby College seems to have a lower infection rate than many of the public and Catholic board schools are currently experiencing. Boxall said they haven't had a lot of students showing influenza-like symptoms. "Our numbers are such that we're seeing normal rates associated with season flu right now," she said. "We feel we've been rather fortunate." College staff worked this summer to develop a plan to reduce the impact of the anticipated H1N1 outbreak this fall. Among the various prevention initiatives are sending home day and local boarding students who show symptoms of the virus, quarantining ill distant boarding students, installing 50 hand sanitizing stations across the campus, cleaning high-traffic areas more frequently and reinforcing the key prevention measures in the classrooms. -With files from the Toronto Star 295 Up to 3 Year Service Warranty 60 DAY GUARANTEE: If after 60 days we have not provided you with the best hearing possible, we will give you your money back... We are an authorized clinic for DVA, WSIB, and Green Shield clients Call 905-827-7333 For a FREE Hearing Test. 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