Premier Dalton McGuinty says Ontario won't force healthcare workers -- or anyone else -- to be vaccinated against H1N1 influenza.
According to McGuinty, the province is designing protocols to determine which groups at risk from the flu should receive the vaccine first. The premier says there is enough medication for everyone who wants to be immunized.
Experts have been predicting for some time that a second wave of H1N1 will hit the northern hemisphere this winter, but it seems to be coming earlier than expected in the United States and parts of Canada.
There are fears the illness could become widespread before a vaccine is ready, or that the vaccine will arrive too late to make a difference.
Meanwhile, a series of unpublished studies in Ontario, Quebec and British Colombia suggest people who get the seasonal flu shot are at a higher risk of H1N1 than those who don’t.
The findings are part of a scientific paper that is pending publication and its authors are refusing to do interviews on their work. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is aware of the findings and says they have seen no similar link in the United States.
With files from The Canadian Press
