It's official – the second wave of the swine flu pandemic has hit Montreal, and public health authorities are responding by opening the floodgates of vaccination centres to all 5- to 19-year-olds, a group hit particularly hard by the potentially fatal H1N1 virus.
Citing new numbers in Montreal hospitals, Dr. Richard Lessard, the director of Montreal's public health agency, said yesterday the spike in the number of hospitalizations because of acute symptoms is worrisome - with 10 new admissions in the previous 24 hours alone, most in the 10 to 29 age range.
That's compared to 78 hospitalizations in Montreal from Aug. 30 to Nov. 10.
According to the Quebec government, 20 people in the province have died since Aug. 30; it is not known how many were from Montreal.
"Until now, the second wave of swine flu has been (felt) outside of Montreal," Lessard said at a press conference yesterday. "But it's really hitting us now in Montreal. ... What we're beginning to see is an increase in the number of kids in particular being hospitalized, some in intensive care. It's just beginning in Montreal, but we know it will increase."
Starting yesterday, all 15 vaccination centres in Montreal were open to children and youths 5 to 19 years old, as well as the families of children 6 months to 5 years old, and the families of people who are immunosuppressed, groups initially turned away because of a perceived shortage of doses.
In fact, only 15,000 to 20,000 people per day have going to the centres, which Lessard said can inoculate up to 40,000 a day for the next five days, until the 200,000 doses of vaccine in reserve run out.
Public health authorities around the world believe the vaccine - now available with or without an adjuvant, or booster - is the best protection against the virus, though it does take 10 to 14 days before it confers complete immunity.
More vaccine will be coming soon, Lessard said, though he couldn't say how much.
Of particular concern are all those living with chronic diseases in Montreal that make them susceptible to developing a more severe case of the swine flu, Lessard said.
Of an estimated 453,000 people in Montreal living with asthma, heart disease, lung disease, cancer and other chronic ailments, only half have been vaccinated.
"There are many people with chronic illnesses in Montreal and I invite them to get vaccinated before the vaccination begins of thousands of schoolchildren," Lessard said. "By presenting themselves now, they will not have to wait long hours in line and they will be protected sooner from the H1N1 virus."
Quebec health authorities are working on a plan to begin busing schoolchildren to vaccination centres, but no details have been made public yet.
Still off the list of eligible groups, however, are daycare workers and schoolteachers, a paradox Lessard did not wish to address, saying only that priority has been given to those groups most at risk.
For some reason, school-age children are being disproportionately affected by the virus, said Deborah Bonney of the Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal, which includes the Montreal public health agency.
"All we know is this new virus has a very different profile from the regular seasonal flu that always targeted the elderly," Bonney said. "It's clear from the data that young people are being targeted."
Indeed, 52 per cent of all 923 hospitalizations in Quebec since Aug. 30 have been of individuals who are under 29 years old.
But schools themselves may be contributing to the phenomenon, because of the "density of kids spending all day together," Lessard said.
Also off the list for now are seniors, including those with chronic illnesses. People 65 and over with chronic illnesses will be eligible as of Nov. 30, and all healthy adults over 20 as of Dec. 7.
The good news, Lessard said yesterday, is that it appears that children 3 years old and over will not need a second shot to be fully protected, though the Montreal public health agency is still waiting for its provincial counterparts to issue official guidelines on the subject.