At the end of Thursday, Ottawa Public Health will temporarily halt H1N1 vaccination clinics, due to a manufacturing slowdown that has led to an inadequate supply of the vaccine nationwide.
“Unfortunately, we have no control over vaccine supply,” said Dr. Isra Levy, Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health, in a press release.
Ottawa Public health is expecting a shipment of roughly 26,000 doses of the adjuvanted vaccine sometime this week. But even when combined with the vaccine that is already available, it still isn’t enough to continue public clinics past Thursday.
Despite the vaccine shortage, Ottawa Public Health will still be able to supply alternate vaccine delivery agents (VDAs), and vaccinate emergency responders and seniors over 65 with medical conditions who are in long-term care facilities and hospitals.
By this evening it is estimated the city will have distributed 190,000 doses of the vaccine to about 22 per cent of the population.
The overall goal of the vaccination effort is to inoculate a minimum of 40 per cent of residents before December 2009.
As per provincial mandate, public clinics will continue to focus on primary priority groups until the end of today.
Levy said the halt will be as brief as possible and anticipates a smooth transition back to normal operations when adequate vaccine supply is delivered. There is currently no information available about the size and date of the delivery.
For more information on H1N1 and tomorrow’s vaccination clinics, visit ottawa.ca/health or contact the Ottawa Public Health Information Line at 613-580-6744.