N.S. woman living in flood zone wants province to pay for hepatitis vaccines

A Windsor woman who lives in a frequent flood zone is asking the province to pay for her combined hepatitis A and B vaccine after she accidentally fell into contaminated water earlier this summer.

Windsor resident was told she didn't meet the criteria for free doses

Andrew Sampson · CBC News · Posted: Sep 08, 2024 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 8

Firefighters are walking through a couple feet of water on a flooded residential street. — Firefighters respond to flooding on Stannus Street in Windsor, N.S., in this photo from July 2024. (Amanda Dunfield)

A Windsor, N.S., woman who lives in a frequent flood zone is asking the province to pay for her combined hepatitis A and B vaccine after she accidentally fell into contaminated water earlier this summer.

Jennifer Moore lives on Stannus Street, where brown-coloured water tainted with sewage begins spewing out of catch basins nearly every time it rains for more than 15 minutes, flooding the downtown street and overflowing onto residential properties.

She's counted 19 separate incidents involving flooding over the past few years alone.

In July, there was flooding yet again, and Moore began pumping out her basement, driveway and yard, which has become common practice for her.

'Beyond exhausted': Windsor residents await fixes to frequent flooding, sewage overflow

Homeowners on flood-prone Windsor street call for fixes to overburdened storm sewers

But this time, she accidentally fell face-first into the water.

"I felt very panicked. The water was dark as mud and it was about 9 o'clock at night," she said in an interview with Information Morning Nova Scotia this week.

A woman with brown hair and glasses looks off to the side. She wears a jean jacket and orange shirt. Behind her is grass and trees. — Jennifer Moore has lived in Windsor since 1998. She says the flooding on her street has gotten significantly worse since 2014. (Galen McRae/CBC)

Afterward, she was able to get a tetanus shot free of charge, but when she went to get hepatitis A and B vaccines, she says she was told she'd have to pay up because she wasn't in a high-risk group.

A pharmacist told her the combined hepatitis A and B shot requires three doses at a cost of $75 each, which was later confirmed by the province.

Not in high-risk group, says province

Moore said she's aware there's no quick fix for the flooding issues, but she believes that in the meantime, everyone on her street should get the shots free of charge given their proximity to contaminated water.

"I wasn't just looking for myself, I was looking for several homes in this area where families would need to have this vaccination," she said.

The Municipality of West Hants has previously said that an overhaul of the sewage system would cost up to $200 million and require additional support from all levels of government. Buyout programs for those living in the area are also being considered.

Information Morning - NS9:05Woman from Windsor calls on the province to pay for her hepatitis vaccines

Where Jennifer Moore lives in downtown Windsor, the sewers overflow onto her street and her property neary everytime it rains. Moore says she knows there is no quick fix, but she is calling on the province to keep residents safe from the raw sewage. That includes covering the cost of a Hepatitis A and B vaccine.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Wellness confirmed to CBC News that the vaccine is only free for the following individuals: people with HIV or chronic liver disease, men who have sex with men, people with a history of substance abuse and those who engage in "high-risk sexual practices."

The department said health-care providers assess an individual's eligibility for the high-risk vaccine on a case-by-case basis and if they are eligible, the vaccine is administered free for Nova Scotians with a health card.

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