All Individuals Under 65 With Chronic Medical
Illness Eligible for H1N1 Vaccine Beginning Tomorrow

Beginning tomorrow (Monday, November 16), all individuals up to but not including 65 years of age with a chronic medical illness will be eligible to receive the H1N1 vaccine at mass immunization clinics throughout the province, the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services, announced today.

�As we continue with our balanced approach, which is to offer the H1N1 vaccine to individuals who are high risk and to school-aged children, we are now in a position to offer the vaccine to all individuals under the age of 65 who have a chronic medical illness,� said Minister Kennedy. �While we are still limited by the amount of vaccine we have, we will continue to offer the vaccine until the supply is gone and the next shipment of vaccine is received.�

Previously, individuals up to but not including 65 years of age with chronic respiratory disease were eligible for the vaccine. That group has now been expanded to include individuals with other chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, cardiac disease, blood disorders, bowel disease, etc. In addition, all individuals currently receiving hemodialysis, regardless of age, are also eligible for the H1N1 vaccine beginning tomorrow (Monday, November 16).

The federal government officially approved use of the unadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine in Canada on November 13. The vaccine is now approved for individuals between 10 and 64 years of age who are not immunocompromised. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the adjuvanted and unadjuvanted vaccines have been shown to provide an excellent immune response for individuals between 10 and 64 years of age.

Effective November 16, individuals up to but not including 65 years of age with a chronic medical illness will have the option of receiving the unadjuvanted vaccine at mass immunization clinics once the adjuvanted vaccine is no longer available. If individuals choose not to accept the unadjuvanted vaccine at that time, they will be given the first opportunity to receive the adjuvanted vaccine once the next shipment is received.

�Given the PHAC recommendations and our practice of offering the vaccine to those in high risk groups before offering it to the healthy population, we are making our supply of vaccine available to these individuals as soon as possible,� said Minister Kennedy.

�I want to reassure people that the unadjuvanted vaccine is safe and effective in preventing H1N1 infection,� said Dr. Faith Stratton, Chief Medical Officer of Health. �Both the adjuvanted and unadjuvanted vaccines have been shown to provide a strong immune response on average in over 90 per cent of the people who received them in clinical trials. While the unadjuvanted vaccine was initially produced specifically for pregnant women in Canada, it is being used in other countries such as the United States for the entire population.�

Beginning tomorrow (Monday, November 16), children from grades four to six will begin receiving the H1N1 vaccinations. The vaccine will be delivered in the schools where possible.

Effective November 16, the full list of individuals eligible for the H1N1 vaccination now includes:

• Children six months up to 59 months (up to fifth birthday);
• People five years of age up to but not including age 65 years of age with chronic medical illnesses, including respiratory disease, diabetes, cardiac disease, blood disorders, bowel disease, etc.;
• School-aged children from Kindergarten to Grade 6 (children who miss their immunization at school can be brought to a mass immunization clinic);
• Pregnant women;
• Parents or other primary care providers (up to two per child) of children under the age of six months and of immunocompromised individuals (up to and including 24 years of age) who cannot themselves be vaccinated;
• Hospital in-patients up to but not including 65 years of age with one or more chronic health conditions;
• Individuals undergoing active cancer treatment (chemotherapy or radiation);
• Pre-transplant patients on a wait list and all post-transplant patients (such as organ and stem cell transplant); and,
• All individuals currently receiving hemodialysis, regardless of age, are also eligible for the H1N1 vaccine.

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Media contact:
Tansy Mundon
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-2646
tansymundon@gov.nl.ca 

2009 11 15                                                   1:30 p.m.