Swine Flu Watch: Why weren’t seniors an H1N1 priority group?
As of yesterday, Ontario has expanded its H1N1 priority list to include frontline responders (e.g. police, firefighters, correctional workers) as well as seniors over the age 65 who have chronic conditions and live in long-term care institutions. This shortly after Montreal’s The Gazette ran a story wondering why seniors weren’t considered a priority group for the vaccine (see excerpt below).
Why aren’t seniors an H1N1 priority? critics ask
Senior citizens left off the government’s swine-flu vaccination priority list say they are victims of discrimination.
With the average age of those dying from H1N1 complication in Quebec being 63.9, many seniors have called The Gazette to say the vaccine priorities are “criminal” and one person suggested it was “Canada’s new pension plan.”
Most of those who have succumbed to swine flu have had underlying health issues, yet seniors over 65 – a group known to have multiple health problems – have been left off the roster until the end of the campaign.
Full Article: here.
