Fighting the H1N1 pandemic will cost Nova Scotia an estimated $20 million, Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said Thursday.
So far, it has spent about $10.8 million combatting the second wave of the swine flu that is sweeping the province.
"Until the vaccines are into people's arms, we really don't know what the final figure will be," MacDonald said after a cabinet meeting Thursday.
The extra costs aren't a surprise. The province knew fighting H1N1 would come at a hefty price. It put aside part of a $57 million restructuring fund to fight the flu, MacDonald said.
Ottawa has agreed to cover 60 per cent of the vaccine's cost, with the province picking up the rest.
MacDonald wants to discuss the possibility of further financial help with the federal government. It would help cover the delivery costs for supplies and staffing, which she said should be covered because they're related to a national campaign.
"The indication we have is there is a willingness to talk further about the cost of this program," she said.
The province has so far spent $2.9 million on its 40 per cent share of the vaccine costs, $1.4 million on delivery supplies such as syringes, swabs and garbage bags, $5.3 million on ventilators, $1 million on masks and $170,769 on personal protective equipment.
"We know there are additional costs there and we will be looking at sharing those costs" with the district health authorities, MacDonald said.
"We recognize that this has placed an additional financial pressure on DHAs and we won't leave them disadvantaged in other areas when business gets back to business as usual."
Chris Power, chief executive of Capital Health, said Wednesday the H1N1 pandemic could put the province's largest health district $2.5 million in the red by the end of the fiscal year.
MacDonald said the province will decide over the next day or so whether to make the vaccine available to a broader segment of the public.
"We've been getting vaccine on a more regular basis in higher quantities," she said.
This week Nova Scotia received 54,500 doses of the vaccine, compared with 28,500 last week. The province has gotten a total of 315,100 doses to date.
While grappling with a nationwide shortage of vaccine, the province restricted the shots to people deemed to be at a greater risk of contracting the virus or suffering serious complications from it.
MacDonald said the province has been mindful of the more than 100,000 people over the age of 65, who haven't, yet, been eligible for an injection.
"People who are over 65 are actually the group who are the least likely to get H1N1," she said. "However, if they do contact it they have quite a high risk" of serious complications.
(Halifax Chronicle Herald)
