More people can get H1N1 shot
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Updated: November 17, 2009 10:27 AM
VANCOUVER ISLAND - Following direction from the Provincial Health Officer, the Vancouver Island Health Authority has now expanded the eligibility criteria for those who can get the H1N1 vaccine.
The expanded groups are:
· Children and youth from 5 years to 18 years of age, inclusive
· People 65 years of age and over with chronic health conditions
· Health care workers delivering acute care, long term care, home care, and public health services
· First responders
These expanded groups join these previously eligible groups:
· Pregnant women
· People under the age of 65 with chronic medical conditions
· Residents of remote and isolated settings or communities
· Children between 6 months and five years of age (i.e. until their 6th birthday)
· Health care workers in high risk primary care settings
· Household contacts of infants less than 6 months of age
· Household contacts of immunocompromised people
Children in Grade 8 and under (age 13) will require a parent to accompany them to the clinic to provide consent before the child can receive their vaccination. Generally, children over the age of 13 do not require parental consent, but public health nurses may make case by case decisions on whether to provide the vaccine depending on circumstances, maturity of the child and their ability to provide informed consent without coercion.
Detailed eligibility criteria are available at: www.viha.ca/h1n1/public/vaccine.htm#eligible.
VIHA immunization schedules are posted at: www.viha.ca/NR/rdonlyres/0A046CB1-433A-4877-8EC2-0C0DAF7A969F/0/h1n1_flu_vaccine_clinics.pdf. Please check this schedule for regular updates as VIHA is in the process of updating the schedule to increase the number of weekend and evening clinics for the school-aged cohort.
— Submitted
