Province continues to rollout vaccine schedule

While the Province has received a lower than expected supply of H1N1 vaccine for the past few weeks, they continue to use the vaccine that is available to continue with its vaccine rollout schedule.
"Over 27,000 people in Prince Edward Island have been vaccinated in just the first two weeks of our vaccination program here on P.E.I.," said Health Minister, Doug Currie. "We have now vaccinated almost one in five people in our province and I think these results speak to the efficiency of our plan and the dedication and hard work of the staff in our health system."
With remaining vaccine currently available the Province will hold several clinics this week to continue to target the remaining people in high risk groups. The first clinic this week will be held in Charlottetown from 12-8 p.m. at the Sherwood Business Centre on Tuesday, Nov. 10, for the following high risk groups:
• People with chronic health conditions under 65 years of age;
• Household contacts and care providers of people who are immune-suppressed;
• Children six months old up to school entry;
• Household contacts of children less than 6 months;
• Aboriginal population.
"We are expecting the next shipment of vaccine to arrive on Wednesday this week," said Dr. Heather Morrison, chief health officer for the Department of Health. "After the vaccine arrives, we will continue vaccinating children in elementary schools on Thursday and Friday, targeting students in grades 4, 5 and 6."
In addition, the province will hold more clinics for high risk groups on Saturday, Nov. 14, at sites across the province. The locations and times for these clinics will be announced early this week.
Provinces receive their vaccine supply through the contract in place with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the vaccine is delivered to provinces on a week-to-week basis per capita as available.
Based on the reduction of vaccine to provinces across the country over the past few weeks, the province has adjusted the original vaccination schedule slightly, but as more vaccine is available, they continue to target groups most at risk, based on the national recommendations on vaccine sequencing.
For further information on upcoming clinics, the public should watch for advertisements, visit www.gov.pe.ca/flu or call 1-888-748-5454 for the most up-to-date information on immunization clinics.