The fact is that, although the federal government does not distribute the actual vaccine, it is responsible for informing the public. If the public had been properly informed of the expected procedure, Aglukkaq's plan to reach high priority groups first would have been much more successful. As it stands, her seeming surprise is unjustified.
In fact, couldn't the Health minister have decided how to distribute the vaccine based on census data? Couldn't she have insisted the provinces set up a program that ensures those most vulnerable are protected first. Of course, the provinces are equally to blame in this regard, but leadership is expected to come from the federal level.
We see that Aglukkaq blaming the public really is an attempt to mask the shortcomings in the federal vaccination plan. The public getting panicky without proper communication is something she should have foreseen. So is the need for a program ensuring the most vulnerable are immunized first. The public cannot be blamed when its leaders don't do what they were elected to do. That fault rests solely with the Health Minister. Recommend this Post at Progressive Bloggers If you liked this post, please vote for my blog at Canadian Blogosphere
The public is confused because there are ten provinces with ten different health care systems. Within each health care system there are hundreds of health regions, each rolling out the vaccine differently. There has been no universal rollout and that is what is confusing Canadians, kid. The federal government SHOULD have ordered the vaccine in June or July and they SHOULD have cancelled orders for the seasonal flu vaccine, but in terms of the rollout, that is the responsibility of the provinces, not the feds. Canadians are confused because they're getting mixed messages from hundreds of health regions across the country. Moreover, if the public is to blame, it's because the public panicked when an otherwise healthy child died of H1N1 last week. That scared the shit out of people. That said, you have to be a complete MORON if you don't understand the signs at every vaccination site across the country which CLEARLY SPELLS OUT who is eligible for the vaccine. Those huge lineups we're seeing on the news are made up in large part by people who are que jumping or NOT on the targetted groups list. What part of WAIT YOUR FREAKING TURN aren't people getting?
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