The next update will be on Tuesday, November 17th, at 0830 hrs PST.
The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6
Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths
*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of November 1st, 2009
Vaccine News
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority confirmed that its H1N1 immunization clinics will remain closed until Nov. 11th. Winnipeg Sun
Some clinics in Manitoba and New Brunswick have temporarily closed due to vaccine shortages. Only 436,000 doses were shipped to the provinces and territories last week, far less than the roughly two million anticipated. Canadian Press
British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer said closures of clinics could be imminent as the province drains the rest of its vaccine supply. Some B.C. clinics are only vaccinating pregnant women while others are also open to children from 6 months to five years. Canadian Press
The Ontario government is expanding its vaccine list to 120 members of the Ontario health ministry actively involved in the pandemic response, first responders, including firefighters, police officers, frontline workers at correctional facilities and youth facility workers and adults aged 65 years or older who live in long-term care homes. CBC
However, clinics in some areas of Ontario are shutting down due to vaccine shortage. Inexplicably, in northern Ontario, clinics are being opened to the general public because they have more vaccine than needed for priority groups. Canadian Press
From Nov. 11th, Alberta Health Services will begin offering H1N1 vaccine to people with chronic conditions, aged 55 to 64 as of Nov. 1; people with chronic conditions, aged 5 to 17 as of Nov. 1. On Nov. 12th, immunization groups will expand further to include people with chronic conditions, aged 45 to 54. Edmonton Journal
While the Harper government has applauded GlaxoSmithKline Inc. for making more than 6 million doses so far, federal officials have commented that Canada needs more than one vaccine manufacturer to deal with future flu pandemics and to avoid production delays that have affected the fight against the H1N1 virus. Had that been the case this time, one manufacturer could have worked on producing adjuvanted vaccine, while the other one could have produced non-adjuvanted vaccines for pregnant women. Initially, officials feared a global flu outbreak would prompt countries with vaccine plants to close their borders and hoard supplies, leading to the desire for vaccines produced in Canada. Globe and Mail
As Canadians line up for dwindling supplies of H1N1 vaccine, Afghan detainees in Canadian custody will have doses made available to them with the same priority as soldiers. Detainees being held at Kandahar Airfield will have the opportunity to be vaccinated from November 11th. Task Force Kandahar's medical staff recently sought legal advice on whether they should be offering the H1N1 flu vaccine to Afghans suspected of Taliban involvement who are being held by Canadians and were told that under Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war should receive the same treatment as Canadian soldiers. Canadian Press
National News
Eight people have died and 202 B.C. residents have been hospitalized with H1N1 flu in the past week, bringing the total number of deaths to 23. The provincial government says three deaths were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, two were in Fraser and three were in the Vancouver Island region. In total, there have been 601 severe H1N1 cases in B.C. since April. Vancouver Sun
The H1N1 pandemic will help erase 20 per cent of profits across six industries in 2009, according to a study released by the Conference Board of Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada. One of the obvious drop-offs will be international and national air travel to Canada, hurting the tourism industry. The report noted that H1N1 could have "significant consequences" for the food services industry. It also said that bans on Canadian pork imposed by Venezuela, Russia and China "limit the opportunities for export growth" in a sector already hit by the rising price of the Canadian dollar. The Star
During a virtual summit on First Nations and H1N1, Canada's national aboriginal leader, Shawn Atleo, is warning that the H1N1 flu sweeping the country is just one of many health crises aboriginal communities will face. A disproportionate number of aboriginals have fallen ill with the virus since it hit in the spring. Atleo suggested their vulnerability stems directly from living conditions on reserves, which are overcrowded, lack clean drinking water and which don't have easy access to medical facilities. According to Health Minister Aglukkaq, by the time the second wave of the pandemic had started, more than 95 per cent of First Nation communities had a pandemic plan in place. First Nations communities are almost always high on priority lists for receiving the H1N1 vaccine. Canadian Press
International News
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will donate 50 million doses of pandemic H1N1 vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) under an agreement signed at WHO headquarters in Geneva by the WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, and the Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoSmithKline, Mr. Andrew Witty. GSK expects to prepare the first shipments of vaccine to the WHO by the end of November. The WHO has a list of 95 developing countries that are eligible to receive donated vaccines, and aims to secure enough vaccines to cover 10 percent of the population of these countries. WHO
Despite a serious outbreak of H1N1 flu in neighboring Ukraine, the Polish government is not planning to stock up on H1N1 vaccine until it had been properly tested. According to the Polish prime minister, none of the companies cleared by the European Commission to produce the vaccine have been able to assess its long-term effects. Vaccinations, meanwhile, have already begun in France, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic. Wirtualna Polska
The toll due to influenza A (H1N1) in India crossed the 500-mark to reach 502 after health authorities in Rajasthan reported as many as 14 deaths in the state in the last one month. Net Indian
Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis has received approval from the German regulatory authorities for its cell culture-based influenza A 2009 monovalent vaccine, Celtura. Novartis continues to pursue registration in other major countries, including Japan and Switzerland. Celtura is manufactured in Marburg, Germany and is an adjuvanted vaccine for persons six months of age and older. Trading Markets
Four more people have died in South Korea after being infected with the Influenza A virus, raising the death toll from the contagious disease to 52. Among the four was a 25-year-old woman who was not classified as a high risk patient. The disaster relief headquarters, which acts as a control tower for the country's efforts to combat the spread of the disease, was set up last week under the Ministry of Public Administration and Security. Korea Times
Weekly Feature
Check out the number of vaccines already distributed and forecasted to be distributed throughout Canada, province by province from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
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