H1N1 Shots: When Will Healthy Children in Montreal Be Vaccinated?

H1N1 has parents of school aged children in the Montreal area concerned. Already, the peak of the outbreak has been announced in other provinces, but it seems Quebec is just heading into the worst of it. Schools are setting up new policies for health-related absences, and parents are being asked to be specific about a child’s symptoms because schools are required to report the number of absences related to flu-like illness.

Waiting to have a child vaccinated, knowing that the flu is going around, is a pretty nerve-wracking experience for parents. It makes me happy that my girls are homeschooled. We are keeping contacts with groups of people down to a minimum for the time being, but I’ll rest easier once they’ve had their vaccines and I’ve counted the two weeks for the antibodies to be created.

It’s not so much that I’m afraid my kids will catch the “plague” and die. But no one likes to see their kids sick, and getting any form of influenza is very unpleasant. Having a son who has communication difficulties makes things harder for us, and of course being six people in an apartment it’s difficult for us to isolate a sick child until the risk of infecting the others is passed. So, let’s just say that prevention is pretty important for us.

H1N1 Vaccination Clinics Stand Empty

After the initial line-up crises at vaccination clinics health officials faced a great deal of criticism over their lack of preparedness. Kids were waiting outside for hours in the cold and rain, only to be turned away due to vaccine shortages. No toilet facilities were provided, so that parents sometimes had to choose between caring for a child’s immediate need to go to the bathroom, and staying in line to receive what at that time seemed like a life-saving vaccine.

Stricter policies, and the institution of coupon or bracelet systems when line-ups are long, has drastically reduced wait times even at the mass vaccination clinic opened in the Olympic Stadium. But now we are hearing reports of clinics standing empty.

In order to be sure there will be no more vaccine shortages, queue jumping is not being permitted at all in Quebec – well, unless you happen to be a hospital board member or a major donor.

This tougher policy has resulted in people being turned away from clinics, even when there are no line-ups and when nurses stand idle. News reporters have asked about taking advantage of these lulls, and been told the Montreal Health Agency has set a policy that does not permit nurses…..

More: Clinics to Target Children 5 – 19 in Laval & Montreal Mid-November…..

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Tags: H1N1 influenza (swine flu), Montreal, vaccines