EDITORIAL: Vaccine challenges
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Updated: November 19, 2009 12:00 PM
Confidence in Canada’s ability to respond quickly to a global pandemic may be a little shaky these days. Vaccine shortages for the current H1N1 outbreak — and confusion over its delivery — have prompted some to wonder what would happen if this pandemic were more serious.
The fact there are glitches in the roll-out of this country’s largest-ever vaccination program is not surprising. The real question is how we can learn from these challenges.
There are some practical problems that Canada will have to look at. Vaccine supply and its distribution are both areas where improvements can be found. Nearly two weeks after the vaccination roll-out was announced, the Fraser Valley had its first clinics. Before that, the vaccine was only available through physicians.
More challenging will be addressing an issue less concrete than the nuts-and-bolts practicality of distribution: confidence.
One attitude this pandemic has revealed is the deep distrust that many have for the health care industry. Their suspicions range from the bizarre (that the vaccinations are part of a global plot) to a basic distrust of large pharmaceutical companies and a vaccine that was rushed into production.
By all accounts, the H1N1 flu is not the virulent pandemic that many scientists still predict will one day occur.
But it is a test. How well we respond to that test will determine how well we handle the next health emergency.
— Chilliwack Progress
