Art Johnson, Calgary Hays, left and Jonathan Denis, Calgary Egmont
Southeast MLAs have come out swinging at critics of the Stelmac government’s H1N1 strategy. Art Johnson, Calgary Hays, and Jonathan Denis, Calgary Egmont, both say Alberta’s vaccination plan was no different than any other province’s. The objective was to vaccinate those who were the highest risk first, then work their way through lesser categories of risk depending on vaccine availability. Where things went wrong, says Mr. Johnson, is that people who were low risk showed up at Calgary clinics and overwhelmed the system.
The H1N1 immunization program is being called a “a true Soviet-style debacle” by the media and Liberal Leader David Swann is demanding that Health Minister Ron Liepert resign from cabinet. Media across Canada are carrying stories about the cancellation of the H1N1 clinics and the apparent disorganization of Alberta Health and Wellness. News that the Calgary Flames may have jumped the queue has only served to increase the volume of complaints.
Mr. Johnston has a different perspective. He says the clinics had such long lines at the outset of the vaccination program is because many of them shouldn’t have been in line in the first place. The government didn’t begin with a mass vaccination program, it was forced into it because so many people showed up who were not high risk.
“The government had a plan and stuck with it, but people stood in line who shouldn’t have,” he said.
Constituents have phoned and emailed Mr. Johnson’s constituency office to complain. But after having the situation explained to them, he said, they accept it and understand the government was not at fault.
Mr. Denis is not prepared to go that far. He says the provincial government has taken responsibility for those things it could control, such as allowing the Flames a private clinic for vaccination, but “I’m not about to blame people for wanting to be vaccinated.”
The Province decided early on that it would not turn away low-risk people who showed up at the clinics, but all indications prior to the beginning of the vaccinations was that not everyone was planning on getting the shot, said Howard May, spokesperson for Alberta Health and Wellness.
Mr. May says national polls indicated that Canadians were not anxious to be vaccinated, and there was a great deal of skepticism about the efficacy of the vaccine and some of its ingredients. He speculates attitudes changed quickly after the deaths of several young boys in Ontario grabbed the nation’s attention. The increase in fearfulness prompted many more people to join clinic line-ups than was anticipated by Health and Wellness, he said.
Compounding the problem, a week into vaccinations Alberta discovered that the manufacturing facility of GlaxoSmithKline would be shipping much less vaccine than originally anticipated.
“No one likes to turn citizens of this province away from receiving their vaccination,” said Mr. Denis in an email interview. “Less-than-expected vaccine shipments from the manufacturer in Quebec and a huge unanticipated demand at mass clinics resulted in a perfect storm.”
According to today’s Globe and Mail, federal officials now admit Canada should have had two vaccine manufacturers in order to avoid delays. Unfortunately, that is small consolation to Albert Health and Wellness and the Alberta government, which counted on additional supplies being available, said Mr. Denis.
He says that while swine flu vaccinations is the number one issue on his political radar at the moment, comments from constituents have been mixed, though not on the issue of the Flames players and families jumping the queue and being vaccinated in a private clinic.
“Many have expressed disapproval with the Calgary Flames receiving the vaccine apparently ahead of other people – something that the NDP raised in question period this week. I agree with the opposition on this point – this type of preferential treatment for a sports team (even though I am a Flames fan) undermines public confidence in the system and is unacceptable,” he said.
“When the health department learned of this issue, the manager responsible was fired and others involved may also face disciplinary action and I support this move.”
Mr. Johnson takes a different view of the Flames situation. He is on record with the Calgary Herald as saying that “It’s a good idea because of the team environment – and they’re all close and everything – to have it. I just don’t know how they jumped the queue, if they did.”
While Mr. Johnson and Mr. Denis may differ on the appropriateness of a professional hockey team being vaccinated before other Albertans, they both argue that vaccinating almost 400,000 people in a week is an accomplishment in itself.
While the first two weeks of the immunization program may have gotten off to a rocky start, the southeast MLAs emphasize that “the Government of Alberta remains committed to making the vaccine available to every Albertan who needs or wants it by Christmas,” according to Mr. Denis.
Whether the government can keep that commitment may depend on factors outside its control, such as the ability of GlaxoSmithKline to deliver the necessary quantities of vaccine. Southeast Calgarians are hoping their MLAs’ optimism is not misplaced.
Related posts:
- TORIES DON'T DESERVE CRITICISM OVER H1N1 FLU "FIASCO" By Markham Hislop, Editor I’m having a hard time seeing...
- SASKATCHEWAN GETS H1N1 VACCINATION RIGHT, UNLIKE ALBERTA Barb Gustafson H1N1 is the topic of the week in...
- TORIES DESERVE A ROASTING OVER HANDLING OF H1N1 VACCINATION By Greg Johnston, Calgary I have to disagree with you...
- MLA'S REPORT BY ART JOHNSTON, CALGARY HAYS Art Johnston, Calgary Hays MLA I hope you all had...
- SOUTH CALGARY MLA JONATHAN DENIS PROMOTED TO CABINET South Calgary MLA Jonathan Denis (Calgary Egmont) has been promoted...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
