Province confirms second H1N1 death

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/11/2009 (5985 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba today reported its second H1N1-related death since the second wave of the flu took hold this fall and the ninth overall since spring.

The person, who officials only listed as an adult between the ages of 18 and 65, did not have any known underlying medical conditions.

As well, health officials said that vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline has asked that clinics hold off on using a specific lot of the H1N1 vaccine while it investigates higher than usual rates of adverse reactions.

Some 63,000 doses of that lot were delivered to Manitoba in October. All but 630 doses had been used when the request to stop injecting it was made yesterday. Four regional health authorities, including Winnipeg’s, received the shipment.

Joel Kettner, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said vaccine from the suspect lot produced one adverse reaction per 20,000 doses compared with one in every 100,000 vaccinations from other lots.

He said no one in Manitoba has suffered any prolonged adverse effects from the H1N1 vaccine, and anybody who did not immediately have a bad reaction to it should not worry about any future problems.

Meanwhile, the number of Manitobans admitted to intensive care from suspected or confirmed H1N1 dropped in the past week compared with the previous week.

There were five people admitted this past week compared with 11 the previous week. There are seven patients in total now in Manitoba ICUs with suspected or confirmed cases of H1N1. 

If you receive the vaccine today, contact us to tell us about your experience.

Here’s where you’ll find vaccination clinics this week:

Assiniboine South: St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 2255 Grant Ave.

Downtown: Portage Place Shopping Centre.

Fort Garry: University of Manitoba, Room 219, Multi Purpose Room, 2nd floor University Centre.

Inkster: Philippine-Canadian Centre of Manitoba, 737 Keewatin St.

Point Douglas: St. Joseph’s Parish Hall, 515 College Ave.

River East: Holy Eucharist Parish Centre, 460 Munroe Ave.

River Heights: Grant Park Shopping Centre.

St. Boniface: Centre culturel franco-manitobain, 340 Provencher Blvd.

St. James: St. Paul the Apostle Parish Centre, 2400 Portage Ave.

St. Vital: Indo-Canadian Arts and Cultural Centre, 479 St. Mary’s Road.

Seven Oaks: Garden City Shopping Centre

Transcona: DeFehr Furniture plant, 770 Pandora Ave. East.

city.desk@freepress.mb.ca