Updated: Thu Nov. 05 2009 19:33:49

ctvtoronto.ca

Health Minister Deb Matthews professed her outrage over queue-jumping by some professional athletes but was vague on whether she would take any action.

"I can tell you that I am outraged by that. It's not okay," she told an impromptu news conference at Metro Hall on Thursday.

"I don't care who you are. I don't care how famous you are. I don't care how wealthy you are -- wait your turn to get the vaccine."

In Alberta, a senior employee with Alberta Health Services was fired after it became known that members of the Calgary Flames hockey club got vaccinated last week.

"I am looking into what happened and we will look at what options are available to use," Matthews said.

She said her ministry has "reinforced messages about who is eligible for the vaccine and who is going to have to wait."

The government expects flu-shot providers to respect Ontario's priority list, but there don't seem to be any hard rules that forces them to comply, she acknowledged.

"When it comes to the queue jumpers, that's one of the questions that I'm exploring right now," Matthews said.

The focus is to vaccinate people who are at the highest risk of complications, she said. Those groups have been identified as the following:

• people with chronic medical conditions under the age of 65
• children from six months to less than five years old
• household contacts and care providers of persons at high risk who cannot be immunized or may not respond to vaccines
• health care workers
• pregnant women
• people living in remote areas

"If you are not part of that high-priority group, please wait your turn," Matthews said.

Health experts say the people in the above groups are at the highest risk of serious complications if they become infected with the virus. The risk of exposure to the virus doesn't figure into the priority group's composition.

The province has 2.2 million doses, but there are 3.4 million people in the high-priority groups.

The Leafs said Wednesday that its medical staff obtained the vaccine through "normal distribution channels" and no preferential treatment was sought or received.

"While all professional athletes are considered high risk to exposure and the transmission of the flu due to excessive contact with other players, heavy travel requirements and public exposure, only certain players and staff have received it the H1N1 vaccine," the Raptors said in a statement emailed to the Toronto Star.

"Consistent with other medical information or cases, this information is considered private and confidential."

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment -- the parent organization of both clubs -- won't say how many players got the shot or whether there were underlying health complications.

Some Leafs players said they just took the advice of their doctors while another held the view that players might be at a higher risk than the general population.

Flu activity

Dr. Arlene King, the province's chief medical officer of health, said flu activity is still on the rise in Ontario, albeit not evenly, but the health system is quite capable of coping.

There are 120 people currently in hospital. Sixty-five of those are intensive care, which is unchanged, she said.

There are 124 flu clinics across Ontario. Some, such as Toronto, are expanding their hours of operation.

"As a result, access is much improved," King said.

To alleviate pressure on hospitals and doctors' offices, 41 flu assessment centres are now operating, with eight more coming, she said.

Next week, the federal government has said there will be one million doses of regular vaccine and 980,000 of the unadjuvanted vaccine, suitable for women fewer than 20 weeks pregnant, next week. King said Ontario will find out its share on Friday.

She hinted that when the vaccine supply improves, children between the ages of five and 18 will be added to the priority list before the vaccine is made available to the general public.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press

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Comments are now closed for this story

JB
Duh... this actually happens in the world? Wow! Imagine that, the rich and famous receiving special treatment.

JonasK
If, in fact those who received the vaccine were not in the high-risk categories then they ought to be ashamed of themselves!

thought
It's reminds me of the movie, "Titantic". The rich feel they have move to contribute to society and they are better than society - so let the rich live and let us "lower" class of society, suffer! Shame on them and shame on anyone who supports them.!

Sandy
Many people that are not high risk were given the shot in Ontario; why centre out these people. People need to calm down. I am high priority and received the shot and came down with the virus two days later. Even getting the shot is no guarantee.

Jay
Sandy
Did you get tested for the h1n1.

Sean
Come on people it is just a flu shot....This is out of control.

patman
Honestly, does it really matter? Toronto sports teams need all the help they can get.

Ken S
I don't think "thought" has thought it through. Where would the masses be without the Edisons, Fords and Gates', to name a few whose genius has made life aguably better for us all.

Paul
Does this really surprize anyone ? It's FUNNY - If the Health minister is so outraged, then why does she not look in the mirror and take a close look at why "She" does not have enough available? Pass the buck ?

G. Gravelle
The only problem with this is that if the rest of us had a way of getting the shot faster rather than getting in line for hours, we'd be doing it.

My niece, her daughter, and my mom already got their H1N1 shot in my hometown. Because I live in the national capital, I'm looking at another month or so before I can get mine.

matlewy
I heard the shot makes you sluggish. Have the Leafs been getting vaccinated before every game this season?

Ed
The outrage is the government not getting their act together knowing many months ahead of time that this flu was on the horizon.
What number do the athletes make up, a few dozen people?

CAB
It is not only the rich and famous. Not sure about other areas, but in the Cornwall area, the local health unit vaccinated all of their staff with their families well before any priority cases at a special clinic. This was for everyone including the computer programmer etc. There are really not any front line emergency personel, nurses who tend to the sick etc. This was clearly preferential treatment by the only source who was to distribute the vaccine to the high risk population. What an abuse of power.

miggs
I'm "outraged" at the commentary by most of you. These guys (the hockey players) pay enough taxes that they're paying for every shot given at the Toronto clinics over the next few months. And all of you are outraged? They should be outraged! And politicians claiming they are "outraged" at the Toronto Maple Leaf players are only trying to deflect attention from the pathetic job they are doing dealing with the H1N1 crisis. Blame the Toronto Maple Leafs lol.

OldTeddyBear
Don't complain.... If they want to be guinea pigs let them. The longer term tests on the side effects of the concoction still have to be completed. They will be nice and visible subjects for the tests.

I am still trying to determine which is worse ... the flu or the cure?

alan
What concerns me here is hockey players could be real good carriers of this flu. The locker room, the number of people they are in contact with and the travel. By all means they should be given the vaccine and quit the politicing and get on with it. To lose your job over this is stupid.

Jay
miggs
So by your logic treatment should be by the taxes you pay and thats it.

shawn
I can't believe these sports organizations are dumb enough not to see that there would be a backlash against this.

I'm also amazed that they can't make the distinction between the risk of catching a flu versus the risk of dying from the flu.

That's what the priority / high risk groups are - people who will die or become seriously ill if they catch a flu; not people who travel a lot or are out in public.

Smarten up.

jayme
miggs
First everyone in canada has the right to equal medical treatment.As for the the money the leafs players pay cover all the shots in toronto.Hate to break it to you but everyone that pays taxes in a sense is paying for there health care.Now with that said should lawers and ceos/coos/predients get speical treatment.

Paul
Hmph? So wealthy private clinic members, Toronto athletes and politicians will have received the vaccine first? Makes sense - every herd's responsibility to protect the weak, the lame and the useless !

amy Greenberg
Hmmm...I wonder if our health minister has been given the shot yet? Is she in the high risk category? Did she have to wait in line? Have the members of her family been vaccinated? All answers I would like to know before she crucifies our athletes. As for our athletes getting the vaccination, I am all for it. Their presence at public clinics would only cause more confusing and crowds. They are travelling to different states constantly and would perpetuate the spread. The last thing we need is one of our athletes to get deathly ill to put the entire city into serious hysteria. If you think that those with friends in high places are not finding a way to the vaccine without waiting in a line, you are fooling yourself.

reidjr
alan
You do know people that need can't get it.

PteB
Im in the military and we got our flu shots.Are people going to complain about that. I think people who are around lots of other people are at a higher risk then others. So what if hockey players got the flu shot.Should they be at the back of the line? This hole H1N1 thing is being blown out of proportion by the media.Way more people die from the normal flu every year then H1N1.
Most people did not even want the shot until the media reported on the poor 13 year old that died.
The media should stop fear mongering.

Ryan
It may only be "a few dozen people" who "pay enough taxes" who got preferential treatment in this case but the principle of the matter is that what they did was wrong. This also includes all of the knobs who have gone to the flu clinics even though they are not in a high risk group. As for the Eastern Ont Health Unit folks getting the shot first - aren't they the folks who are responsible for coordinating a medical response for any outbreak that occurs?

Dave in Perth
I'm so sick of this B.S. People the regular flu is way worse than this swine flu. 3 out of a million will die from swine flu while 60 will die from the seasonal flu. It's hyped beyond belief by the media. And just in case you are wondering, I have a compromised immune system and could easily get the shot,I'm not. If it had mutated we would all be in trouble but it didn't so relax.

Joe
This has become a complete joke. People are "outraged" that some hockey players got the H1N1 shot. Oh my God, the sky fell. The rest of us are going to die because some rich guy got the flu shot. Those of you so "outraged", go back to watching Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.