Orléans Star
Published: Friday, November 6, 2009

Immunization program poorly managed

Three weeks ago I wrote about the various lineups we all stand in at some point on a daily or weekly basis. In a sad irony, thousands of you have faced this frustration recently in trying to get the H1N1 vaccination at the Orléans Client Service Centre or other sites across Ottawa.  

By mistake I dropped into the client service centre a week ago Thursday for a meeting that was at Shenkman Arts Centre and was able to witness the lineup around 7:15 p.m. that evening. Several dozen people were sitting in the old town hall theatre and doing their best to cope while waiting for their shot. And cope they did.

Some folks were chatting with total strangers and no doubt sharing the misery of their frustrating wait. Others were doing crosswords, Sudoku or plowing through a paperback novel. Still others were chilling with an iPod and some tunes or catching up on work (or fun stuff) on a notebook computer.

So far I’ve cut our public health officials some slack as they, along with every other city and town in the country, ramp up the largest vaccination program in our history. But Orléans Coun. Bob Monette was bang on when he stated last Friday, after seeing people line up in the cold rain with strollers in tow: “They’ve got to get their act together. I will not stay quiet if things are not in order.”

While the federal government continues to take it on the chin each day in Question Period in the House of Commons, our national and local media are missing the boat on some fundamental questions.

The feds continue to state that 6 million doses of H1N1 vaccine were shipped to their provincial and territorial partners over a three-week period starting in mid-October. So have six million vaccines been administered since Day 1 on Oct. 26? I think not. Most reports I have seen estimate about one million (or perhaps 1.25 million) Canadians vaccinated to date.

Simple math tells us that over 4 million doses are still out there, so even with vaccine supply interruptions from Canada’s supplier, there should be no shortage right now. A shortage of health care providers to administer it compounded by overwhelming public demand, yes, an actual shortage of vaccine, ah, no. What say the provinces to this?

As for our local officials, where they can be faulted is in lineup management. For goodness sakes, local concert promoters know that mad crushes for limited tickets are best managed with bracelets or dedicated ticketing systems. And if you have ever been to Disney, you have likely used the “fastpass” concept to return to a ride or attraction at a pre-determined window later. So why did it take Ottawa Public Health a week to figure this out?

As citizens and taxpayers, hopefully we can get answers to these questions soon.  Or at least before we roll up our sleeves later this month or into December.  

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Comments can be sent to Walter Robinson at orleansouttakes@transcontinental.ca.