News Conference with Minister of Health and Chief Public Health Officer

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health
November 10, 2009 - 14:30 EST

Thank you and good afternoon.

First of all, I’d like to tell you that over the past few hours I have been participating, along with Dr. Butler-Jones, in a very interesting and successful “Virtual Summit” with Aboriginal people from across Canada. The interactive webcast used this afternoon allowed us to “meet” - by means of a nation-wide webcast - to discuss some of the recent progress that’s been made on First Nations reserves , including in remote and isolated communities, and how we are working together to try to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. The Virtual Summit is part of a joint agreement that Chief Atleo and I signed in September to make sure timely information on preparedness and prevention was being shared with First Nations communities. The planning or preparations for the Second Wave of the H1N1 flu virus in First Nations communities has been outstanding. By the time the second wave started, more than 95 per cent of First Nation communities had a pandemic plan in place. Thanks to the actions taken in First Nations communities, the spread of the virus is being slowed.

Across Canada, we are now beginning the third week of the largest immunization campaign in our history. As we have said, we expect this campaign to last 8 to 12 weeks. Approximately 8.5 million doses of the pandemic H1N1 vaccine will have been distributed to provinces and territories by the end of this week. I want to assure Canadians that we are delivering the vaccine as fast as the manufacturer can produce it, and as soon as the appropriate quality controls are met.

As you know, the number of Canadians who have received their shots varies quite a bit around the country. This week, we are seeing more public clinics opening up in most provinces. Again, I’d like to remind Canadians that at this time, most provinces and territories are vaccinating those on the priority list. Those people on the priority list are considered to be at highest risk of infection and must be vaccinated first. For those of us who are healthy and who don’t fall into the priority groups, please wait to get your shots. You will have access to the vaccine before the end of December.

To the many health care workers and local authorities at the clinics, I thank you for your continued hard work to make sure this goal is achievable. And to all Canadians, I thank you for your cooperation during this massive and historic immunization campaign.

Thank you.

Dr. David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer

Thank you, Minister.

This week, many provinces and territories are continuing to report increases in the number of patients with influenza-like illness. We are continuing to see increases in hospitalizations, and some deaths across the country. These deaths are to be expected. The flu is a serious illness. As we’ve said in the past, seasonal flu kills two thousand to eight thousand people in Canada each year.

With H1N1 flu, we’re seeing that the pattern of disease is the same during the second wave as it was in the first. We haven’t seen any change in severity – for the most part the illness associated with the virus remains relatively mild. For the week ending October 31, 2009, the reported hospitalizations were four times higher than was reported the previous week. As we stated last week, the virus is showing no signs of slowing down. We can expect to see more illness in the weeks and months ahead. That’s why it’s important that we all take steps to protect ourselves, including getting vaccinated.

So who, really, is at greater risk, and why is that? Comparing the data from the last few weeks to the data from the first wave of the outbreak, we are seeing similar trends regarding risk groups for severe disease. People with underlying conditions, pregnant women and children under five continue to make up the majority of hospitalized cases, including those admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Those 45 years and older, particularly those with underlying conditions, continue to have the most severe outcomes.

As was observed in the first wave, the majority of deaths reported in the second wave so far have been among people with underlying medical conditions. People with underlying conditions are about 15 times more likely to be hospitalized if infected with the H1N1 flu virus, and their risk of being admitted to ICU or dying is 20 times higher than the general public. Since the beginning of the outbreak, more than 55 per cent of hospitalized cases have had at least one underlying condition and about 75 per cent of fatal cases have had an underlying condition. The condition that was most often linked to hospitalization and death was chronic lung disease, including asthma. Other commonly reported conditions were diabetes and heart disease. Those of us with underlying risk conditions should seek early treatment. And if we are initially getting better and then get sicker, we should get medical attention.

There are plenty of things outside of this we can all do to protect ourselves. I'll reiterate the message that hand washing, cough hygiene and staying healthy are all effective ways of preventing infection in the first place. We can stay home if we are sick, and keep others from getting our illness. And we can stay informed, about vaccines and about the virus in general. We mustn’t panic, we must remember that we can all make a huge difference in preventing the spread of this virus.

Thank you. Merci.