Swine flu shots free to all in Nunavut

Nunavut will be a priority when the swine flu vaccine becomes available, and health department officials said Wednesday the shot will be available free to everyone in the territory who wants it.

An order has been placed that is large enough to cover 75 per cent of the population with two doses each.

"We're expecting to receive the vaccine by mid-November at the latest, and we're making plans to hold mass vaccination clinics in every community," said Dr. Isaac Sobol, the territory's chief medical officer of health.

"To assist in these clinics, the [health] department is providing funding for additional nurses and staff to assist in the speedy delivery of the vaccine," he said.

Sobol said the seasonal flu vaccine program will be delayed until H1N1 clinics are finished.

Last year, fewer than 30 per cent of Nunavummiut received the regular flu shot, he said.

Sobol believes those numbers will be higher for the H1N1 vaccine.

"We're encouraging all residents to take responsibility and get vaccinated," he said.

Sobol believes an exceptional flu will result in an exceptional turnout for the H1N1 vaccine.

"Our target is always 100 per cent," he said.

Details such as which communities will receive the vaccine first have not yet been worked out.

"We're hoping to get it to every community very, very quickly. So there won't be a sense that some people got it and others had to wait for a long period of time," Sobol said.

Nunavut's traditional flu season starts in January.

So far this year, 65 people in Nunavut have been hospitalized with H1N1.

All but two communities have had confirmed cases.