Three-part flu fight in works

          Ontario is delaying the seasonal flu shot program until after a pandemic vaccine, as there has been some concern that the seasonal flu shot could increase your chances of catching swine flu. To solve this concern, Ontario will roll out their new vaccination program in three parts. First, the seasonal flu shot will be available in October to people who are 65+ and residents of long-term care facilities. Next, the H1N1 vaccine will be available in November, first to those who are most susceptible to serious illness. After that, the province will provide the seasonal flu shot to the rest of the population in December and January. Data taken from a series of studies in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, appears to suggest that people who got the vaccination against the seasonal virus last year are about twice as likely to catch swine flu as those who were not vaccinated. This finding is causing lots of concern around the world. Starting next week, mail about the new vaccination program will be sent to every house in Ontario. The provinces in Canada are taking different actions to prevent this virus, but MP Dr. Carolyn Bennett, health critic for the Liberal party, says that, "I had thought these were decisions taken in a consensus way, that there would be one plan for the country. I'm very surprised." In the next year, we will find out which provinces' approach was the best solution to this problem.

          I believe that Ontario has taken a good approach to this solution. They have created a plan, and are ready to fight the virus. They figured out who was most likely to get the H1N1 flu virus first, and then they created a new vaccination program which was also based on the data from studies in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Ontario is prepared to fight the virus, as they have also started to mail every household to inform them about the new vaccination program. I don't understand why Canada hasn't taken the same approach amongst the province and territories to fight this virus. Not only would it make things much less complicated, but it would also treat every citizen of the country fair. Every person would be receiving the same shots, at the same time, which means that the disease would have less time to spread. In the end, I just hope that Canada and its provinces and territories are taking the right action, because I would not like to be a victim of swine flu, nor would I like to hear about any more deaths from the flu.