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Liberal lines on H1N1

by DavidAkin on Thu 05 Nov 2009 05:10 PM EST | Permanent Link | Cosmos

The federal Liberal Party was distributing the following this afternoon:

1.“Canada has the highest per capita availability of the vaccine of any country in the world”.

*Wrong. Australia has the highest per capita availability in the world – not Canada.

2. “We are ahead of schedule in getting the vaccines to the provinces and the territories”

*What schedule? Experts say that H1N1 is beginning to peak now and we haven’t even begun vaccinating the general public. We’re months behind other countries, including China.

3.“Every Canadian who wants the vaccine will be able to receive the vaccine by Christmas.”

*Christmas is 6 weeks away. We have 30 million people to vaccinate, which would mean 5 million people a week. Where are the additional doses coming from when at best, the government has said they will ramp up to 3 million per week?

4.“Next week there will be an additional 1.8 million doses available, which will bring the total to 8.5 million doses.”

*1.8 million is less than the 3 million they promised earlier this week. How can we count on a government that can’t count?

5.“The vaccination program is being run under the national pandemic plan, not under the emergency response plan”.

*Both the Auditor General and the Chief Public Health Officer have said that pandemic planning falls under general emergency preparedness. The Conservatives have failed to plan and this is a national disgrace.

h1n1

Posted to:

Liberals

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Re: Liberal lines on H1N1

by jad on Thu 05 Nov 2009 07:25 PM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

1.“Canada has the highest per capita availability of the vaccine of any country in the world”.

*Wrong. Australia has the highest per capita availability in the world – not Canada.

Australia with 21 million people has ordered 21 million doses of vaccine, Canada with 33 million people has ordered 50 million doses. Do the math.

2. “We are ahead of schedule in getting the vaccines to the provinces and the territories”

*What schedule? Experts say that H1N1 is beginning to peak now and we haven’t even begun vaccinating the general public. We’re months behind other countries, including China.

China begins H1N1 vaccinations
2009-09-21 15:33
Beijing - China kicked off its swine flu vaccination programme on Monday in Beijing by immunising students due to take part in next week's National Day celebrations, city health authorities announced.

The Asian giant has been at the forefront of international efforts to produce an A(H1N1) influenza vaccine, with at least five companies receiving government approval, but officials have warned demand will exceed supply.

The health ministry has said it plans to vaccinate 65 million people, or 5% of the country's total population of 1.3 billion, before year's end.
(emphasis added)
http://www.news24.com/Content/World/SwineFlu/1255/ce36d9f206ba45b7960fdc4c7869f2ba/21-09-2009-03-33/China_begins_H1N1_vaccinations

3.“Every Canadian who wants the vaccine will be able to receive the vaccine by Christmas.”

*Christmas is 6 weeks away. We have 30 million people to vaccinate, which would mean 5 million people a week. Where are the additional doses coming from when at best, the government has said they will ramp up to 3 million per week?

Christmas is actually 7 weeks away, , and estimates of the number of Canadians who will actually want the vaccine are usually around 50% , or 16.5 million. 6 million doses have already been shipped, and 7 weeks of another 2 million doses comes to 20 million altogether. 7 weeks at 3 million would total 27 million.

4.“Next week there will be an additional 1.8 million doses available, which will bring the total to 8.5 million doses.”

*1.8 million is less than the 3 million they promised earlier this week. How can we count on a government that can’t count?

They didn't actually promise 3 million earlier this week. In fact they announced last Friday that the total number available would be reduced because of production of the unadjuvented vaccine.

5.“The vaccination program is being run under the national pandemic plan, not under the emergency response plan”.

*Both the Auditor General and the Chief Public Health Officer have said that pandemic planning falls under general emergency preparedness. The Conservatives have failed to plan and this is a national disgrace.

After playing with numbers, the Liberals are now playing with words. The national pandemic plan falls under the emergency response plan, as both the AG and the Chief Public Health Officer have said. The emergency response plan comes under the purview of the Minister for Public Safety, the pandemic plan comes under the Minister of Health and the Chief Public Health Officer. In their opinion the current situation is a pandemic and not an emergency. The AG stated that she had not looked at the swine flu issue.

I understand that the Opposition feels a need to oppose, but this so-called information is blatantly untrue and seems to be designed simply to cause panic and confusion.

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Re: Re: Liberal lines on H1N1

by Gabby in QC on Thu 05 Nov 2009 09:53 PM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

Good job, Jad.

I posted a similar list of countries (with appropriate links) that the Liberals repeatedly said were way ahead of Canada in administering the vaccine, but that is not the case at all.
Unfortunately, that information was not deemed publication worthy here when I posted it.

Here’s a more complete list, sans links …
1. bernama.com:
Nov 4, Beijing
“Chinese pharmaceutical companies have been urged to speed up the production of Influenza A(H1N1) vaccine amid an increase in the infection rate since mid-October. ...
So far, 3.8 million Chinese citizen have been inoculated with the domestically produced vaccine.”

2. news.bbc.co.uk
Page last updated at 04:49 GMT, Wednesday, 21 October 2009 05:49 UK
“The first vaccinations in the UK-wide programme aimed at combating the spread of swine flu have begun.
Seriously ill hospital patients and the health staff caring for them will be the first of 14m people in the "priority group" to be given the jab.”
That’s a mere 5 days earlier than Canada.

3. bergen,kommune.no
“The City of Bergen has begun vaccinating higher risk groups and health care personnel against the A(H1N1) virus …”
Published: 27.10.2009 Updated: 30.10.2009
“The city has run out of vaccines, as have many doctors. We do not know exactly when new vaccines will be in place, but according to national health authorities it will be some time next week. Until all members of higher risk groups have gotten the vaccine, they and remaining health care personnel will have priority. …”

4. dn.se/nyheter/sverige
Published 2009-11-02 12:30
… The vaccination unit of Sweden’s population is in full swing, but when, where and how to be vaccinated depends on where you live. 
In Stockholm, vaccination began in city public schools this week. Around 95,000 students and staff will be offered vaccination in the coming weeks. Students, parents and staff will get a leaflet about the vaccination on Monday 2 November. ...”

5. freep.com
POSTED: NOV. 3, 2009
“H1N1 flu vaccine shortage possible in Michigan
State need exceeds the allocated doses
State health officials said Monday that there are fewer than 1 million doses of H1N1 vaccine allocated to Michigan right now, but there are 5 million people -- about half of those in the state -- who are high-risk individuals in need of the vaccine.
In other states, the vaccine is trickling in as officials try to meet the needs of high-risk populations.”

6. ilmessagero.it
ROME November 2
“... Vaccines. [Health Minister] Fazio explained that the vaccines were distributed in different phases. By October 30th all regions had received some doses, around one million. Distribution will reach 6 million doses by the end of November. …”

7. lemonde.fr
“Controversy grows around the vaccination campaign, while the A flu is gaining ground in France
LE MONDE | 30.10.09 | 15h38 • Updated 31.10.09
“The A H1N1 flu epidemic is spreading throughout France, but the massive vaccination campaign, which will start November 12, is dividing public opinion and politicians. …”

8. allheadlinenews.com
U.S. Has Short Supply Of H1N1 Vaccine
October 24, 2009 9:50 a.m. EST
“ … The original timetable was for 120 million doses to be ready by late October, pared to 40 million and last week further trimmed to 30 million to be delivered by end of the month. While the figure has been upped to 50 million doses, the delivery date was moved again to middle of November. Another 150 million would be ready by December. So far only 15 million doses are available. … “

9. elpais.com EMILIO DE BENITO – Madrid – 23/10/2009 “The Ministry of Health and the communities cleared another hurdle, reaching a consensus in the debate over the new flu. The Interterritorial Council agreed that vaccination will begin everywhere on the same day: Nov. 16. … “

10. the-news.net
“Swine flu vaccine here 24/10/2009 … As of next Monday [Oct. 26, same day Canada began to vaccinate] 54,000 doses of the A H1N1 flu jab will begin to be administered to the nation. ... It is hoped that by the end of April 2010 all three million people in the three key groups will be protected as they can be against Swine Flu.

And for those who like their socialist paradise
11. atravesdevenezuela,com
Oscar el Mar, 01/09/2009
PR/El Nacional
“Health Minister Carlos Rotondaro announced Monday that the H1N1 vaccine will arrive in Venezuela in January 2010, and he stated the number of cases to date in the country were 995.”

The Liberals have been yapping that the government’s response was not fast enough.
Well, many other countries that they’ve pointed to as outdoing Canada have been experiencing slow delivery of the vaccine, some shortages, and in some cases the same kind of panicky line-ups induced by excessive negative media coverage.

Can they please tone down the rhetoric?

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