Statement made on 28 October 2009 by Senator Jane Cordy
Hon. Jane Cordy:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Health Canada approved the H1N1 vaccine that is now being administered on the basis of one clinical study only, a study in Belgium of 130 healthy adults aged 18 to 60. According to its own website, Health Canada approved this vaccine without any clinical data with respect to the vaccine's effects on the elderly, children and adolescents.
The situation for pregnant women is particularly concerning. They are justifiably concerned not only for themselves but for the health of their babies. However, the government's recommendations for pregnant women seem to change almost daily. Until a few days ago, the government was telling pregnant women not to take the regular vaccine with the adjuvant, but to wait for the one without it. When it became clear that the vaccine without adjuvant would not be ready until mid-November, the government began telling pregnant women to take the adjuvant vaccine. Then the government announced it was purchasing 200,000 doses of the vaccine without the adjuvant from Australia, which will be available in the first week of November.
I ask the Leader of the Government in the Senate: Is the vaccine that is now available, the vaccine with the adjuvant, safe for pregnant women? Should pregnant women wait for the vaccine to arrive from Australia, and is 200,000 doses enough? Given the government's flip-flops, how can these Canadian women have any confidence in the government's recommendations?
Please click here to read the full text of the Senator's question