COMOX VALLEY - Unionized paramedics in the Comox Valley and Campbell River areas are upset at not being considered as "high risk" and therefore not eligible for early H1N1 vaccinations. The union says many of its members have spent long hours in local vaccination clinics and then turned away because they are not front line healthcare workers.
Paramedic Shop Steward Bill Coltart says there has already been at least one instance of an ambulance attendant having to leave his job because he has developed flu-like symptoms. Coltart says the attendant transported a confirmed H1N1 flu victim last week.
The union questions the government's commitment towards paramedics, especially after drafting legislation to bring an end to the union's strike which began on April 1st.
Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson brought the matter up in the BC Legislature today and criticized the government and Provincial Health Minister Kevin Falcon for having no coherent plan for paramedics to be vaccinated.
