By Sarah Klein
The first day of H1N1 vaccination clinics throughout Winnipeg and the rest of the province were a success, but some say there could have been a larger turnout.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) is operating 12 locations in the city until December 4 to give people an opportunity to get the shot. Reports of lineups at some spots of up to three hours were coming in by mid-afternoon Monday, but health officials say not to get discouraged. Grant Park was one of the locations where lineups were forming almost out the mall doors by 5 p.m.
As of noon yesterday, 1,891 patients had received the shot in Winnipeg. By 3 p.m., that number has risen to 4,000, and doesn’t yet include the turnout from when the clinics closed at 8 p.m.
Those clients who have yet to get the seasonal influenza vaccine can also do so at the same time as their H1N1 at no extra charge.
But not all Manitobans are on board with getting vaccinated. According to a poll released last weekend, only 51% of Canadians say they will get the shot. Mayor Sam Katz told Hot 103’s Ace Burpee on Monday that he will likely get immunized.
View a complete list of clinics.
UPDATE: 1:42 p.m. — As of noon today, 2,208 people had been immunized, bringing the two-day total to 13,572.
ChrisD.ca photo (Nurse Tricia Coulter holds up vials of the H1N1 vaccine at a flu clinic in St. Boniface on Monday)
