Canada Approves H1N1 Vaccine

Canadians can begin getting their H1N1 flu vaccines next week, now that the Health Minister has announced the vaccine is approved. There haven't been a lot of clinical trial participants in Canada, but the approval is based on European data. China began widespread vaccinations in late September, and the United States and Australia also already have programs in place.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on October 12 (2009) that about 100 low and middle-income countries will recieve donated vaccine starting sometime in November. The donations will be made by vaccine producers such as GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi. The protection of health care providers in the recipient countries will be given top priority.

According to a poll taken in early October, only about a third of people intend to get a shot compared to nearly 45% in August. Might that have something to do with that flurry of attention given to an unpublished report (last month) that the flu shot for H1N1 could make you more susceptible to the regular flu? We are still waiting for the details on that one, but the blame could also be attributed to lack of confidence in the flu shot in general, or fear of adverse reactions (SUSARs).