By rights, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff should own the H1N1 issue and the botch that the authorities have made of it, just as he should own the health-care issue overall. His party built and sustained our health-care system, which has re-emerged as the main concern of voters. A new poll this week finds a 90 per cent majority approve that "universal" system -- crossing all regions and demographics. Most support is "unqualified," and is highest -- this surprised me -- among the youngest group, the 18- to 29-year-olds. They haven't, on this, been swayed by the individualistic rightward shifts of recent decades, although none of them were around during the original war over medicare.
H1N1
If you're too hot, get a shot
Drumroll, please. We have rolled out the H1N1 vaccine. It's in the warehouses -- hold on, I'm being told it's now been approved by our tests, though our tests aren't complete and most of them aren't ours and we already knew most of what we now know before this. Never mind. You can get the vaccine, but not yet. And maybe not when you go for it since there's not enough for everyone so we're asking people who aren't at risk not to get it though if they go they can get it. Except in some places. Anyway, it's a Go! ...
In fact, it was CBC news who trumpeted, "It's a go!" They joined the general rollicking mood. Personally I'd like to know where to go to be inoculated against the confusion and lack of clarity surrounding this story.
H1N1: Are governments washing their hands of the real problem?
With the worldwide emergence of H1N1 influenza and the World Health Organization’s declaration of a flu pandemic on June 11, 2009, there is great concern regarding the issue of infection control. Yet, much of what we see and hear is narrowly focused on the ability of hand-washing to prevent the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus that threatens the lives of young and old alike. It is a familiar story that was also trotted out when other infectious diseases such as MRSA, C. difficile, and Norwalk virus emerged.