At least four Toronto hospitals offered H1N1 vaccine to board members
Published Saturday November 7th, 2009
TORONTO - Members of at least four hospital boards in Toronto have been offered the swine flu vaccine that's intended for priority groups only, and while one doctor said Friday he now regrets that decision another said it's the right thing to do.
Board members at Toronto's Mount Sinai hospital were offered the H1N1 shot last week, when health officials were urging that higher-risk groups go to the front of the line.
Toronto's University Health Network is also offering the shot to board members and executives, along with nurses, doctors, volunteers and other hospitals workers.
Health-care workers are among the six groups that are considered to be a higher priority for getting the pandemic shot in Ontario.
From the start, health officials have urged people to let the priority groups go first, but said no one would be turned away. As demand surged and Ontario's supplies dwindled, the government decided late last week to restrict the shot to priority groups only.
Both Premier Dalton McGuinty and Health Minister Deb Matthews have held off on getting the vaccine, saying they'll wait their turn.
Everyone who works at the Toronto General, Toronto Western and Princess Margaret hospitals is being offered the H1N1 shot because they're all needed at a time of crisis, said Dr. Bob Bell, president of the University Health Network.
"Our analysis of the situation at University Health Network is that every individual who works in the hospital is essential to the hospital's functioning," Bell said in an interview.
"And that includes our managers, our directors, our executives. Let's face it, we're making day-to-day decisions on how this hospital responds to this epidemic. Of all times, this is the time that hospital leadership is most necessary."
However, Mount Sinai's chief microbiologist Dr. Donald Low said he now regrets offering the board members the H1N1 shot at an Oct. 26 board meeting, the first day it became available in Toronto.
Sixty-five people - including doctors, staff and volunteers as well as board members - got the shot, and 15 of them would have been in the high-priority category, he said.
At the time, Toronto Public Health hadn't yet opened its 10 public immunization clinics and was providing the shot only to city staff involved in health care.
The hospital had a large supply of the vaccine and no lineups at its clinic, he said.
"In hindsight, it was the wrong thing to do," he said. "I mean, it was a mistake. You thought you were doing the best thing at the time, and then you find out you weren't."
Low couldn't confirm which board members received the shot or whether they were in a high-priority group.
The next day, news of the swine flu death of Toronto teen Evan Frustaglio caused a spike in vaccine demand and that sparked hours-long clinic lineups in Toronto and the surrounding communities.
Low said he was unaware, at the time, that the province would be facing a shortage of the vaccine, which was announced later that week.
The news sparked outrage from a union that represents hospital workers and accusations that Mount Sinai's board - which includes several high-profile business leaders and former politicians - got special treatment.
The Service Employees International Union is also calling for board chairman Lawrence Bloomberg to resign over the vaccinations.
"What we are seeing evokes scenes from the Titanic, the privileged pushing to the front and leaving vulnerable women and children to a chilling fate," local union president Sharleen Stewart said in a release.
Health Minister Deb Matthews must seek disciplinary action against doctors who have inappropriately given out the vaccine to people who aren't on the priority list, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
Matthews is already investigating whether several pro athletes in Toronto jumped the queue in getting the H1N1 shot.
"I believe that there is a bigger picture here," said Horwath.
"I believe we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of who it was that was able to jump the queue in this vaccination rollout, and again shows a complete lack of communication and planning by this government."
The other priority groups are pregnant women, children between six months and five years of age, people who care for infants and other people who can't get the vaccine, people under the age of 65 with chronic conditions and those living in remote communities.
As of Thursday, the province has seen 37 swine-flu related deaths and 123 hospitalizations.
Provincial health officials note that the season flu usually results in about 300 deaths and thousands of hospitalizations each year.
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