Headline: Untimely criticism
There were hundreds of people in lineups across the province this week (of Nov. 2), from Grand Falls-Windsor to Corner Brook to St. John's. The second wave of H1N1 has hit Newfoundland and Labrador - and we are afraid.??
In the Advertiser newsroom, reporters were confounded by news releases that came by e-mail and fax faster than they could type.?
Rewrites have become the order of the day, as we try to keep up with the ever-changing information that is accompanying the global pandemic.??
At times it has seemed as though no one really knows what is going on.??Protocol for eligible vaccine recipients is changing faster than Newfoundland cabinet ministers.??
One minute you have to be under five or over 65, the next you have to be from five to 24 with an underlying health concern. If you happen to be pregnant, you have even more information to sift through. We started to believe that red-headed left-handed preteens would be the only ones left on the list.??
On the open lines shows and blogs, citizens have been scathing in their attacks on the provincial government's handling of the vaccination process.?
?Are they really doing that bad of a job???
As of yesterday (Nov. 4), one million doses of the H1N1 vaccine were administered in this country.??
The first wave of the swine flu rolled through in April. Vaccine was available in late October. This fact alone is astounding, as the production has been lightning fast.??
It continues to be produced and is being shipped around North America as it comes out of the production facilities.??
While the government and health authorities may not have had strict guidelines in place for the present pandemic, they are doing the best they can under the circumstances.??
Officials at the Department of Health are seemingly at the mercy of the shipments of vaccine scheduled to arrive at Newfoundland airports. They had no idea how many citizens to expect at their vaccine clinics. Early last week (week of Oct. 26), polls showed less than 50 per cent of the population had even considered receiving the vaccine. That number has increased considerably very quickly.?
The Minister of Health has not avoided media, in fact, he has appeared before microphones every day to provide new information to reporters. Department of Health officials and representatives from the four health authorities have also met every day by teleconference. Their communications personnel are working around the clock, it seems, to provide us with the information they possess.??
The unfortunate part of this whole situation is no one really knew what to expect.??
Government handling of the current situation has not been perfect - there is no way it possibly could be. In a perfect world, we would have lined up last week in our own neighbourhoods and been given a dose of the vaccine no matter what our age or state of health.??
Yes, we are afraid for our children, our families, our neighbours and ourselves.??But blaming the government for the spread of H1N1 will do nothing.??
For now, we must use common sense, prevent it where we can by using good hygiene, and listen to and trust the health professionals who are working tirelessly to keep us as safe as possible.??
This horrible illness has already taken too many lives in our province. To blame those who are trying their best to stop it from taking another is akin to lambasting the little Dutch boy who is poking his fingers into holes in a dike for not having enough thumbs.??
David Newell
The Advertiser, Grand Falls-Windsor
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