Canada Handled H1N1 Well: Senate Committee

Canada did well handling the H1N1 pandemic compared to other countries.
Canada Handled H1N1 Well: Senate Committee
1/2/2011
Updated:
1/2/2011

[xtypo_dropcap]C[/xtypo_dropcap]anada did well handling the H1N1 pandemic compared to other countries, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology said in a report released Wednesday.

“We had a remarkable degree of cooperation across national, provincial, and municipal jurisdictions,” said Senator Kelvin K. Ogilvie, deputy chair of the committee.

Among other things, the report recommended the government find a backup vaccine supplier and renew funding for pandemic preparedness in the next budget. It singled out First Nations and Inuit communities as particularly vulnerable to communicable diseases.

Senator Art Eggleton, chair of the committee, said the recommendations can better prepare for future outbreaks. “It is not a matter of if there will be another pandemic but when. We must be prepared,” he said.