The next update will be on Tuesday, November 24th, 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 8th, 2009
Vaccine News
Manitoba Health has announced that on November 18th, the general public will be able to receive the pandemic H1N1 vaccine. Joel Kettner, Manitoba's chief public health officer, said the decision to eliminate the priority list was based on dwindling demand among the priority group and an upward swing in the supply of vaccine arriving weekly. Winnipeg Sun
Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews has announced that starting November 18th, anyone in Ontario over the age of six months will be able to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus. CTV
According to Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc, by November 22nd, more than 1.3 million Quebecers would have been inoculated against the H1N1 virus. The number of new hospitalizations, still on the rise, is not as worrisome as health authorities initially expected, though some regions, such as Montreal's South Shore, are reportedly being hit harder than others. Ottawa Citizen
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Minister Jerome Kennedy says he is considering making senior citizens the next candidates for vaccination, even if it means overruling the advice of medical experts. Health officials have said people over the age of 65 are considered to have a lower risk of becoming infected with the H1N1 virus than other members of the population. CBC
Alberta’s H1N1 immunization program will expand at the end of this week to include all children under 18, as well as their family and caregivers. And it may expand even further, depending on demand for the vaccine over the weekend. Immunization for seniors will expand shortly to include those 65 years old and above, as well as their spouse or partner of any age. Edmonton Sun
Prince Edward Island will begin vaccinating the general population by November 30th. The PEI Health Department is getting ready to make expected long lines at H1N1 vaccine clinics easier to manage with an arm band system. Charlottetown Guardian
As Canadian health officials assured the public that the pandemic H1N1 vaccine is as safe as the seasonal flu shot, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control said it is probing why B.C. residents are suffering anaphylaxis, an adverse reaction to the vaccine, at a higher rate compared with the previous five seasonal flu vaccination programs. In British Columbia, the rate of adverse reactions is 2.2 per 100,000 doses distributed, compared to 1.2 per 100,000 doses usually. None of the 18 anaphylaxis reactions in B.C. resulted in death. Globe and Mail
Prisoners and staff at Newfoundland's largest prison have been given the H1N1 vaccine to reduce the spread of the virus. The Eastern Health district said the inmate population at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's was identified as an at-risk group by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Inmates and others in closed correctional facilities are considered at-risk because they live in a confined environment that makes them vulnerable to the spread of a virus. Canadian Press
National News
With more than half of Toronto Public Health's staff deployed to work related to the H1N1 influenza pandemic, some regular programs have been suspended, including sexual health clinics, home visits for new mothers, and some food safety inspections. The impact has been greatest due to nurses being redeployed to work in 10 public vaccination clinics. Health Zone
Teachers in some B.C. public schools have started refusing to work because they contend that the H1N1 illness among students has created an unsafe workplace. By law, employees have a right to refuse work if there is a reasonable cause to believe it poses a health or safety hazard. The teachers' claims of unsafe work prompted an onsite inspection by WorkSafeBC which did not identify a single worksite that was hazardous due to the virus. The B.C. Public School Employers' Association has advised school districts that, based on the WorkSafeBC findings, “it will not be deemed to be unsafe… to go to work in the classroom where the potential to contract H1N1 exists.” Vancouver Sun
International News
51 French schools have been closed due to possible spread of the H1N1 virus or emergence of confirmed cases, according to the French Education Ministry. Since the epidemic broke out in France, the government has granted the regional prefects right to close classes or even schools if three flu cases emerge in the same class during one week or cross infection are possible for different classes sharing same activities. Xinhua
According to a survey of doctors, more than half of Britons being offered vaccination against pandemic H1N1 flu are turning it down because they fear side effects or think the virus is too mild to bother. Many of the 107 family doctors polled by Britain's Pulse magazine said there was widespread resistance from patients, particularly pregnant women, and on average only 46 percent of those offered the vaccination would agree to receive it. Reuters
A new study of pandemic H1N1 cases in Mexico, by Dr. Victor Borja-Aburto of the Mexican Institute for Social Security, and colleagues, found the death rate was above 10% in those aged 70 or older, 5.7% among those aged 60 to 69, 4.5% among those 50 to 59, 2.7% for those 40 to 49, 2% for those 30 to 39 years and 1.6% for infants under the age of one. In terms of catching the disease, those aged 10 to 39 were most affected, comprising 56 per cent of all cases in the study that were confirmed as H1N1 flu. Canadian Press
Another 42 people have died of H1N1 flu in Iran over the past week, raising the Islamic republic's death toll from the illness to 100. Iran has placed restrictions on Muslims planning to travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage later this month. Straits Times
Eighteen more people have died in South Korea from the H1N1 virus, raising the country's total death toll from the new flu to 82. An 11-year-old girl and a 42-year-old man died after being diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, both of them not classified as being in the high-risk category and given antiviral medication. Korea Times
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