H1N1 in the House

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 6:42 PM - 31 Comments

One MP appeared to be wearing a medical mask during tonight’s vote and it is being reported now that Bloc MP Claude Guimond has, or may have, H1N1.

Gilles Duceppe says the Bloc offered to “pair” Guimond’s vote with a Conservative so Guimond could have stayed away from the House tonight, but the Conservatives declined. The government responds as follows: “The Whip’s office did not get a request to pair and secondly all our MPs were attending the vote so you cannot pair if all MPs want to go vote.”

The Commons: Questions, assurances, innuendo and a man named Donald

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 6:00 PM - 28 Comments

The Scene. Holding his notes in his right hand and gesturing with his left—and with the Prime Minister now physically present—Michael Ignatieff repeated his concerns of the day previous. Why, he wondered, were so many other countries faster to act on the H1N1 flu pandemic? Where, he asked, was the Prime Minister? How, he speculated, was the Prime Minister so quick to pose beside a new roadway, but so invisible now?

If only to give Tony Clement a much-needed day off, Stephen Harper stood to take this one himself. The government, he assured, was following the advise of the chief public health officer. The country’s vaccine supply, he boasted, was supple.

Mr. Ignatieff was quite ready for this. “Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing that the vaccine is available, so why are there shortages?” he mused aloud. “Why are clinics closing? Why are people waiting eight hours in line? There is a disconnect between what the Prime Minister is saying and the reality on the ground. Two weeks ago, the health minister said the vaccine would be available to all Canadians by November. Now it is pushed on until Christmas. Local authorities cannot plan because they cannot predict a reliable federal supply of this vaccine. When will the Prime Minister take his responsibilities and give provinces and territories the predictability they need, but also the resources?”

From the other end of the room, Leona Aglukkaq objected loudly to the Liberal leader’s insinuation. Continue…

Notes on a non-crisis

By Andrew Coyne - Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 2:45 PM - 421 Comments

A summary of what we know now:

- The federal government put in an order for 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine — enough to vaccinate everyone in the country 1.5 times — with GlaxoSmithKline in early August. As of this week, GSK has delivered to the feds, and the feds have shipped to the provinces, 6.7 million doses. But at last count only 2 million had been administered. The feds have delivered nearly twice as many doses, per capita, as the Obama administration (deliveries in the US have lately crested 30 million), and claim to have the highest per capita delivery rate in the world, but even if they had delivered twice as many again, they’d only ensure that 10 million doses were backed up waiting to be administered.

- Perhaps the vaccinations should have been ready sooner. But two decisions, both medically defensible, contributed to this. One, they held off producing the H1N1 vaccine, on the advice of the public health officer, to produce the seasonal flu variant — understandably, since it’s far more deadly, at least in the short run. And two, they slowed production of the adjuvanted (more potent) vaccine this week, in favour of the unadjuvanted variety, which the World Health Organization had recommended as safer for pregnant women. The WHO has since changed its mind.

- Even at that, we might have got by without the lineups of the past week. Not two weeks ago, the public gave every indication of giving the whole thing a pass. Polls showed only a small minority intended to get vaccinated. So the authorities were likely planning on the basis of a leisurely take-up rate. Then 13-year-old hockey player died suddenly of the disease, and everyone flipped — from apathy to mass panic, in the space of a couple of days. Couple that with large numbers of queue-jumpers, healthy adults who are not among the high-priority, and you have a recipe for incipient chaos.

- There is no emergency. The current flu outbreak kills at a fraction of the rate of regular, seasonal flu, which hardly anyone worries about. The child who died of the disease was freakishly unlucky. Obviously the sooner the better, but it’s debatable whether anyone will die because the vaccinations are administered in November rather than October, since you have to take the already tiny proportion of people who would have been susceptible to dying from it, divide that by the proportion of those who would have caught it in the absence of a vaccine, and divide that by the proportion of those who would have had the foresight to get themselves vaccinated.

- Should the government have relied on a single supplier? Maybe, maybe not. But the Liberals are ill placed to make this point, since the contract to supply the flu vaccine was signed with Ste. Foy, Quebec-based Shire BioChem (later bought by GSK) in 2001, by the Chretien government: a 10-year contract worth $323.5-million. CTV reports the Liberals received a $56,000-plus donation from Shire BioChem that same year.

- The Auditor General makes some good points about emergency planning — in general. But she was auditing the Public Safety department, not Public Health, and she did not look specifically at the H1N1 issue. Doubtless there has been some bungling, but this was a) mostly by the provinces, who are responsible for administering the vaccine, b) no worse than garden variety government bungling, c) probably made worse by the confusion of overlapping roles between three levels of government. Some provinces have done a better job than others, and within each province some regions have done better than others.

- Bottom line: This was an inherently difficult undertaking: the largest vaccination program in the country’s history. The task now should not be to point fingers, but to learn so we can all do a better job the next time, when the stakes may be very much higher.

Flames players get vaccines before everyone else

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 2:18 PM - 0 Comments

The Alberta government plans to investigate how the Calgary Flames managed to get access to swine flu shots for their players while their fellow Albertans lined for hours to get theirs. Flames president Ken King insisted the team had followed the protocol set out by Alberta Health Services, suggesting players ran a higher risk of contracting the virus and that their presence at public clinics might have created a “sideshow” that delayed things even further. Opposition politicians in the province, however, are having none of it. “It’s a failure of leadership that we are providing vaccines willy-nilly to whoever has money, to whoever has access, when cancer patients, when chronic lung patients, when pregnant women and their children can’t get it,” said Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann. Alberta’s Conservative government has come under fire in recent days for the slow-pace with which vaccines have been doled out and, beginning Thursday, will limit access to the vaccine to high-risk groups. Meanwhile, Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert said he will find out whether the shots given to Flames’ players were “inappropriately diverted.”
The Chronicle Herald

The Commons: Swallow this impressive-sounding number and call your doctor in the morning

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 6:46 PM - 90 Comments

The Scene. The Prime Minister’s chair, as an inanimate object, was unlikely to answer. But Michael Ignatieff insisted on asking anyway.

“Mr. Speaker, today we learn from the Auditor General that, for its entire time in office, the government has failed to develop any national emergency preparedness plan. That includes planning for epidemics and pandemics like H1N1. Does that not begin to explain why the government’s response to this crisis has been so slow and confused?” he wondered aloud. ”We have heard from the Minister of Health. When will we begin to hear from the Prime Minister? When will he stand up, take responsibility for the government’s mistakes and correct the situation?”

The Prime Minister was otherwise engaged with escorting the Prince and Camilla around rural Newfoundland. John Baird, Mr. Harper’s de facto deputy, was away as well, while the Health Minister was in Vancouver. No worries though, because this seemed to be a question about emergency preparedness and that is distinctly the purview of the Public Safety Minister and that minister, the typically unshy Peter Van Loan, was most certainly in his seat.

And yet, here came Tony Clement, the Minister of Industry and master flailler of arms.

“Mr. Speaker, let me dwell in the realm of facts,” Mr. Clement boldly offered. “The fact of the matter is that there have been six million doses of H1N1 vaccine that have already been delivered to the provinces and territories.

“That’s what you said yesterday!” lamented a Liberal.

“We currently have more H1N1 vaccine per capita than any other country in the world,” Mr. Clement reviewed. “The vaccine is being distributed as quickly as it is being produced and there will be sufficient H1N1 vaccine available in Canada for everyone who in fact needs or wants to be immunized.”

“Merry Christmas!” chirped a Liberal, yesterday’s points and counterpoints now sufficiently covered. Continue…

There's a shortage of vaccines, and it's all the fault of [Your Government Here]

By Andrew Coyne - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 4:57 PM - 142 Comments

Obama will fix H1N1 vaccine shortage: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama is frustrated with shortages in the availability of the H1N1 flu vaccine but the problem was being tackled, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.

“We’re working each and every day to fix this,” Gibbs told a daily news briefing.

Gosh. You mean other countries are having trouble delivering vaccines on time, too? It’s not just a matter of the Harper government’s incompetence or miserliness? It’s just, you know, a logistical nightmare ?

Apparently so:
H1N1 Spreading Faster Than Vaccine, CDC Says
Children swine flu deaths spike in US amid vaccine shortage
Behind The H1N1 Vaccine Shortage
H1N1 vaccine shortage could be political pitfall for Obama
Critics say vaccine woes show administration’s lack of preparedness
CDC Chief ‘Frustrated’ By Swine Flu Vaccine Shortage
H1N1 vaccine shortage stings politically

Other parellels: while Republicans charge the Obama administration with mishandling the epidemic, vaccine shortages are also cropping up as local issues — just as in every province of Canada, the opposition is blaming the provincial government.

And of course, on either side of the border, there’s someone ready with the same cheap, inflammatory analogy:
Liberal launches political storm by comparing H1N1 response to hurricane Katrina
Limbaugh: H1N1 vaccine shortage “ought to be Obama’s Katrina”

'A specific and important matter requiring urgent consideration'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 11:09 AM - 20 Comments

Here then is last night’s full discussion, just about five full hours in all. The first hour and a half or so includes Carolyn Bennett (the first speaker, though it’s not entirely clear on Hansard), Michael Ignatieff, Leona Aglukkaq, Jack Layton and some discussion of Luc Malo’s 36th birthday.

'This debate is not simply about an epidemic'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 1:00 AM - 136 Comments

If nothing else, evening debates do provide an excuse to walk up Parliament Hill with the Peace Tower all lit up and looking particularly magisterial. The impact of the Centennial Flame at the bottom of the hill is also tenfold when everything else is dark.

Anyway. I watched the first half hour and a half of debate and did not once hear an unrelated human tragedy invoked for the sake of easy comparison. That too was redeeming. I return home several hours later to see the discussion is still going, a Conservative backbencher still dutifully raising the same tangential point he was pursuing four hours ago, Niki Ashton still carrying the NDP cause with youthful idealism and Liberal Larry Bagnell looking suitably dishevelled.

A link to the full debate in the morning once Hansard is up (Note: that link is now here). For now, below are the remarks of Michael Ignatieff, who spoke second for the Liberals. An overview of the early remarks from the CBC is here. Continue…

The Commons: 'Merry Christmas, everybody'

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 2, 2009 at 6:42 PM - 60 Comments

The Scene. Witness first Bob Rae, master of the indisputable contention.

“Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the federal government has two clear responsibilities,” the Liberal offered after the Speaker called for oral questions. “The first is to ensure a steady and reliable supply of vaccines for H1N1. The second is to provide leadership and information on a coherent pandemic response.”

So far, so good. The House did not rise up unanimously to second Mr. Rae’s assessment, but no one stood to shout him down either.

Then, though, the question. “I would like to ask the government a very simple question,” Mr. Rae finished. “How could it have failed so miserably to execute these two critical responsibilities?”

Well then.

The Health Minister was preoccupied with her Blackberry. In her place stood John Baird, officially the Minister of Transport, but on this day the de facto Minister of Pandemic Influenza, Economic Stimulus, Ethics in Governance and, in the case of some controversy concerning public funds directed to the riding of Tony Clement, Small Town Sidewalks. Continue…

House of Commons after dark

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 2, 2009 at 4:57 PM - 65 Comments

The Speaker has granted Carolyn Bennett’s request for an emergency debate on H1N1. That is due to begin in a few hours, after this evening’s votes, and could, conceivably, go until midnight.

A tale of two swine flu vaccines

By Kate Lunau - Monday, November 2, 2009 at 12:26 PM - 5 Comments

Not all swine flu vaccines are created equally—just ask the Germans. On Monday, Germany launched a massive campaign to inoculate its population against the H1N1 virus, which has already infected 23,000 people there. But media reports revealed the country would employ two vaccination programs: top officials, the military, and other essential workers would get a different—and possibly better—vaccine than the general population.

The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel and other government workers would get the Celvapan vaccine, which is “widely seen as safer” than the Pandemrix shot most citizens would receive. Public outrage reached fever pitch after the tabloid Bild accused the government of offering “second-class medicine” to regular people. Continue…

Heckling, H1N1, sexism, politics, poor taste and an apology

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 30, 2009 at 5:04 PM - 24 Comments

Chris Selley considers Carolyn Bennett’s week.

There is, of course, a legitimate debate to be had over how, when and to whom Canada is rolling out the H1N1 vaccine. But it is not and will not be conducted in the House of Commons. If anyone in there actually thinks his party is favoured over any other by this incredibly unedifying sideshow — heckling and hooting and sexism allegations and body bags — he’s dreaming.

The Commons: If we can't talk to each other, we can only talk to ourselves

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 6:39 PM - 52 Comments

The Scene. The Conservatives cheered as Bob Rae, perhaps their preferred opponent, stood to start Question Period. Then, though, he spoke.

“Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for public health and for H1N1,” said the white-haired one. “It is very clear that there was a delay in the decision of the federal government to order the vaccine. It is very clear that there has been a delay in the distribution of the vaccine. I would like to ask the minister, in light of these two clear facts that are delineated by the evidence, does she not understand that these delays have cost and will cost lives?”

The Conservatives groaned, having apparently expected something more laudatory of their efforts.

On this question of health policy, it was of course Tony Clement, the Industry Minister, who was offered up to respond. Just as Christian Paradis, the Minister of Public Works, would later take a question on climate change, the Treasury Board President Vic Toews would expound on the scourge of organized crime, and Heritage Minister James Moore would stand and account for the government’s approach to taxation.

“Mr. Speaker, in fact our Minister of Health has been working with the Chief Public Health Officer and has been working assiduously with the provinces and territories across this land to deliver the vaccine,” Mr. Clement informed the House

And surely we can all agree that assiduously is a very impressive-sounding word. Continue…

The Commons: Our house of glass

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:33 PM - 113 Comments

The Scene. Shortly before Question Period began this afternoon, Jack Layton stood with something to say.

“Mr. Speaker, citizens appoint a member of this House to represent their values of cooperation and mutual respect,” he posited. “During Question Period we have been witnessing undeniably sexist heckling from members of the government side. This abuse is growing hotter, it is growing more frequent, and there is more bullying.”

For this, he was, of course, heckled and jeered.

“I can hear some of it now, except in this case it is not targeting women as it does all too often in this chamber. It targets women representing opposition parties, all the opposition parties in the House,” Mr. Layton continued. “Sexist bullying cannot be justified in Canada and can never be tolerated in our Parliament. As a parliamentarian, as a man, a father, a grandfather, I call on the government’s leadership to really get a grip on its members and set a higher standard.”

Members of all three opposition parties stood to applaud the NDP leader’s call. Government members sat impassively. Asked afterwards, Mr. Layton declined to specify any particular taunts of a particularly sexist nature. Continue…

Who's not getting the shot

By John Geddes - Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 5:05 PM - 24 Comments

I’ve been thinking about what additional piece of information it would take to jolt all those people who are still saying they don’t want to get the H1N1 vaccine into seeing reason. I think I’ve hit on it: Maxime Bernier says he’s doesn’t plan to be vaccinated. I apologize in advance to health officials for any sudden surge of demand for shots caused by this posting.

What if you could see them?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 1:31 PM - 52 Comments

The Sun’s Elizabeth Thompson raises a probably pertinent question about yesterday’s heckling of Carolyn Bennett.

Wonder if the Conservative MPs in question would have behaved the same way if the archaic rules of the House of Commons didn’t prevent cameras from showing anyone other than the person speaking and their constituents could have seen them in action.

'This isn't funny'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 10:17 AM - 81 Comments

Susan Delacourt notes the scene yesterday as Carolyn Bennett attempted to ask her second question of the Health Minister.

A question about pregnant women and the H1N1 vaccine provoked a bizarre bout of heckling and laughter on the Tory benches in the Commons on Tuesday.

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, a physician and former public health minister, was shouted down when she tried to raise the issue of confusion surrounding what kind of vaccinations pregnant women should be getting.

For whatever reason, Ms. Bennett regularly draws enthusiastic heckling from the Conservative side. But given government house leader Jay Hill’s stated concern yesterday about anyone who would “intimidate, or attempt to intimidate, members of this House,” he will no doubt be instructing his charges to show Ms. Bennett greater respect in the future.

The Liberals have uploaded video of her question. Here’s that. Continue…

The Commons: Bring it on

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 6:21 PM - 63 Comments

The Scene. Worried perhaps that his point had been lost amid yesterday’s unpleasantness, David McGuinty stood at the start of Question Period this afternoon and picked up approximately where he had left off the day before.

“Remember the facts,” he said. “One hundred million dollars of partisan propaganda without accountability, infrastructure funds distributed as if they were reward points and more than 60 investigations by the office of the Ethics Commissioner, a minister under investigation for his ties to lobbyists and federal agencies, a Conservative senator linked to key players in a scandal.”

Then, a simple-enough question. “When,” Mr. McGuinty wondered, “are the Conservatives going to clean up this ethical mess?”

The Prime Minister stood, buttoned his jacket, adjusted his left cuff and addressed the Speaker on another matter entirely.

“Mr. Speaker, this is a time of global economic recession,” he said, “but Canada’s performance exceeds that of many other countries and the measures of government are well-supported by Canadians and even the vast majority of provincial governments.”

This much had been said in French, the language employed for Mr. McGuinty’s first question. But, before sitting, the Prime Minister switched momentarily to his first language. “This question,” he said, “reminds me of the old saying: ‘When you throw mud, you lose ground.’”

So there. The Prime Minister returned to his seat then, entirely done dealing with the Liberals for the day. Continue…

The Commons: Unsophisticated debate will not be tolerated in this place

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 26, 2009 at 6:25 PM - 40 Comments

The Scene. Ralph Goodale stood and the Conservatives, obviously quite eager to hear and consider his particular concern this day, were yapping and squawking before he’d so much as spoken a clause.

“Mr. Speaker, survey after survey about the H1N1 vaccine show a dangerous trend. Only half of Canadians are planning to get vaccinated. That is down from two-thirds in July. Too many people do not think it is safe, do not think it is necessary. That is a communications failure that could put lives at risk,” Mr. Goodale posited. “How does the Prime Minister justify an advertising tsunami of $100 million for partisan Conservative propaganda, but only a pittance for crucial information about vaccinations?”

The Prime Minister, alas, was not present. In his place, Tony Clement took a turn.

“Mr. Speaker,” he said, “the honourable Minister of Health is doing an excellent job in communicating to Canadians about the H1N1 flu situation.

“She has said that the vaccine would be available to every Canadian who needs and wants one,” Mr. Clement reported on behalf of Leona Aglukkaq, seated perhaps 20 feet to his right. “Not only is the Minister of Health urging Canadians to get the vaccine but the Chief Public Health Officer is doing so as well. This is the best way to protect our health and the health of our loved ones. Despite the fearmongering on the other side, we are focused on protecting the health and safety of every Canadian.”

To better convey this fearmongering, the Industry Minister wiggled his fingers in the general direction of the opposition side. Continue…

H1N1 puts HPV vaccine on the shelf

By Kate Lunau - Monday, October 26, 2009 at 11:18 AM - 1 Comment

As New Brunswick prepares to inoculate residents against swine flu, another public health program is falling by the wayside. Hundreds of health care workers, from nursing students to retirees, are being recruited to administer the H1N1 vaccine—meaning the HPV vaccine must be put on hold. This year, about 2,500 Grade 7 girls will not receive a shot to protect them from the human papilloma virus, which can cause genital warts and cervical cancer.

According to the “Canadian Cancer Statistics” report, about seven Canadians per 100,000 were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2005, the most recent year for which data is available. Thanks to the HPV vaccine, “it’s the first genital cancer that’s preventable,” says Dr. André Lalonde, executive vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. As such, he notes, “it’s a major breakthrough in health.” Continue…

They're drinking what?

By Alex Shimo - Monday, October 26, 2009 at 11:17 AM - 45 Comments

The best way to drink hand sanitizer is straight, like whisky, and down it “like a shot,” explains Tyler, a Grade 10 student who lives in Toronto. Undiluted, the alcohol-based liquid tastes a little like “vodka and bug spray,” he adds.

The alarming comment from the 15-year-old mirrors a growing number of news reports about teenagers and children drinking the antiseptic hand-cleaning products. Most hand sanitizers have an alcoholic content between 60 and 90 per cent, which means that even small amounts have led to a number of cases of alcohol poisoning in younger children. That percentage is much higher than even that of most hard liquors, giving it an appeal to kids looking for a quick high, explains Jane Wells, a drama teacher at Toronto’s after-school Care Program. Wells has come to know a lot about this subject: she discovered that a group of eight- and nine-year-olds drank hand sanitizer at school just before she took them on a school walk. When she noticed them acting strange and giggling, they first told her they had been drinking alcohol, but after some probing, confessed it was really the hand cleaner. They told her they’d been enticed by the promise of alcohol “right on the bottle,” she says. Continue…

MPs, they're just like us

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 26, 2009 at 10:29 AM - 29 Comments

In a Globe and Mail survey, only 49% of Canadians say they’ll get the H1N1 vaccine shot.

In a Hill Times survey, only 21 of 32 MPs say they’ll get the H1N1 vaccine shot.

Flu shots: coming to a place near you

By Cathy Gulli and Tom Henheffer - Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 10:45 AM - 23 Comments

Deciding whether or not to get the flu shot is never easy—only one in three Canadians do each year. With the H1N1 vaccine being rolled out in a few weeks, the decision is even tougher. In the midst of mixed messages about who needs which shot and when, the majority of Canadians are planning to skip the vaccine altogether. Complicating matters is an unpublished report revealing that among people who received the seasonal flu shot, their chances of contracting H1N1 are 1.5 to two times higher. That research, coupled with a growing consensus that H1N1 will be more prevalent this fall and winter than the seasonal flu, has prompted many provinces to revamp their vaccine schedules. Below, Maclean’s gathers the details from each provincial government. Additional information is available from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Yukon
Northwest Territories
Nunavut

RELATED ARTICLE:
Swine flu fiasco — Everyone needs the H1N1 vaccine. Few plan to get it. What you need to know. What you need to do.

Theatre of the absurd

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 12:47 PM - 20 Comments

The Sun’s Peter Zimonjic relates a surreal moment from last week.

Normally after question period MPs step out to one of three microphones in the foyer of the House of Commons. A camera is set up there to record them and journalists stand on either side to ask questions. The event is called a scrum because reporters shoot questions at the MPs on topics of interest in an area wired for sound and pictures.

But yesterday Liberal MPs, Carolyn Bennett and Kirsty Duncan stepped up to a microphone, stood in front of the cameras, and without a journalist in sight began talking as though they had just been asked a question. This went on for several minutes, as the two MPs appeared to be fighting over the microphone to make statements. And when they were finished Bennett even appeared to wave to a journalist — that wasn’t there — before walking off camera…

Other reporters stood around in amazement and when the MPs left one seasoned veteran of the press gallery came over to ask if he really saw what we all just saw.