By ADAM BOWIE-Associated Press
Friday, October 23, 2009
New Brunswick's top health officials say they're urging First Nations citizens to protect themselves from the H1N1 virus as soon as the pandemic vaccine is available.
Dr. Paul Van Buynder, deputy chief medical officer of health, said aboriginal Canadians are one of several key groups who will get the vaccine before the general public.
He said data from different parts of the country and across the globe suggest they have a higher risk of developing severe illness.
"The data that we've been seeing from the impact of this on First Nations (and) aboriginal people across the world, including in Canada, makes them a priority for us," he said.
"While we have insufficient vaccine to vaccinate the whole (population) of New Brunswick today, we really need to make sure that the first groups to be vaccinated are those that are most likely to end up in hospital."
He said the pandemic influenza has taken its toll on remote First Nations communities in northern Saskatchewan, so New Brunswick wants to take extra precautions to protect its aboriginal population.
"The relative risk is somewhere around ten-fold for many of those indigenous groups, particularly those in remote communities," he said.
"In New Brunswick, there are 13 designated remote communities and there are about 17,600 people who have been identified as being First Nations."
He said it's also going to be important for First Nations people who live outside those designated communities to be vaccinated.
"The risk extends beyond people of First Nations origin living in First Nations communities," he said.
(New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal)