According to the MMHC survey, almost half of respondents reported that the inadequate supply of vaccines impeded immunization for front-line health care workers early last fall.

In order to protect its staff, University Health Network (UHN) - a network of Canadian hospitals - made its hospital staff top priority when administering the vaccine. The network reported a 95 percent uptake in the vaccine, says Gillian Howard, vice president of public affairs.


The high uptake, says Howard, "meant we had staff available to work. It was a mild pandemic, but when planning, plan for the worst-case scenario."

A study published in Health Service Research in June found that vaccination rates increased as mass media coverage of flu-related topics increased. According to data from the 1999 to 2001 flu seasons, which included a vaccine supply shortage or delay, annual vaccination rates increased by 8 percent.

The researchers found that when mass media outlets, including the four major television networks - ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News - and other key media such as The Associated Press and USA Today, mentioned the influenza vaccine there was a "spike" in vaccination activity, according to the report.

But the mass media can also cause undo hype, according to Fugate.

"We learned that the public panics and the media don't necessarily always help," she says, regarding lessons learned from H1N1. "Last season was not as bad as all of the hype leading up to the season led us to believe."

Lessons learned

Perhaps UHN's success in standing strong against H1N1 was its prior experience with infectious disease outbreaks. Nearly a decade ago, Toronto - where UHN's hospitals are located - was hit with an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

"Because [Toronto] had SARS, there was a heightened awareness to plan early [for a pandemic]," says Howard.

While the city didn't know the H1N1 pandemic was coming, it knew the importance of being prepared.

"We knew that given the history of flu pandemic, if it wasn't this year it's going to be another year," Howard says. "We know a pandemic will come, it's just a question of time and how to prepare."

Using knowledge from the SARS epidemic, Howard's team had a very aggressive screening program for people coming into the hospitals with unknown respiratory illnesses.

Vaccinations were administered as the first line of defense, and due to the SARS stockpile, the hospitals had more than enough N95 respirators to get them through the first wave, says Howard.

"Surgical masks would have been just fine," she says. "...They probably weren't necessary for the flu, but given the experience of SARS, that's not something we were going to be able to convince people of."

More Industry Headlines