Let’s add some anger to the hysteria, shall we?
As scores of Canadians are already frustrated by an H1N1 vaccine roll-out that that is marked by long wait times and dreadful communication, the Calgary Herald reported today that the Calgary Flames “arranged for their players to receive flu shots away from the crowds” last Friday. And not just the players, but their families too.
And the blame game begins. The team has stated that they were acting on an NHL directive that suggested that the players get inoculated. They also say they consulted with a representative from Alberta Health Services and followed appropriate protocol. A spokesperson for the province's health services department says they’re investing the incident but acknowledges that if it did occur, “it was a mistake, and shouldn’t have happened.”
Initial public reaction is one of anger, and I can’t help but agree. Prioritizing professional athletes over the rest of us is irresponsible and if in fact Alberta Health Services sanctioned the private vaccinations, they should be ashamed.
Calgary Flames President and CEO Ken King says his team is a “high-risk group [due in large part to their] substantial physical contact, extreme exertion, cross-border domestic travel… and it was simply determined that they needed and should have [the vaccine].”
Despite the fact that King has publicly stated that he doesn’t categorize his players in the same priority group as pregnant women and young children, the damage is done. Team management, and perhaps Alberta Health Services officials, decided that the Calgary Flames were worthy of receiving a vaccine that the majority of the public has to wait to get- purely because of their athletic ability. That behaviour cannot be tolerated in a country that prides itself on universal healthcare.
As scores of Canadians are already frustrated by an H1N1 vaccine roll-out that that is marked by long wait times and dreadful communication, the Calgary Herald reported today that the Calgary Flames “arranged for their players to receive flu shots away from the crowds” last Friday. And not just the players, but their families too.
And the blame game begins. The team has stated that they were acting on an NHL directive that suggested that the players get inoculated. They also say they consulted with a representative from Alberta Health Services and followed appropriate protocol. A spokesperson for the province's health services department says they’re investing the incident but acknowledges that if it did occur, “it was a mistake, and shouldn’t have happened.”
Initial public reaction is one of anger, and I can’t help but agree. Prioritizing professional athletes over the rest of us is irresponsible and if in fact Alberta Health Services sanctioned the private vaccinations, they should be ashamed.
Calgary Flames President and CEO Ken King says his team is a “high-risk group [due in large part to their] substantial physical contact, extreme exertion, cross-border domestic travel… and it was simply determined that they needed and should have [the vaccine].”
Despite the fact that King has publicly stated that he doesn’t categorize his players in the same priority group as pregnant women and young children, the damage is done. Team management, and perhaps Alberta Health Services officials, decided that the Calgary Flames were worthy of receiving a vaccine that the majority of the public has to wait to get- purely because of their athletic ability. That behaviour cannot be tolerated in a country that prides itself on universal healthcare.
Amidst all of the angry responses, I did find one online posting in support of the decision. It read, “Now [the Flames] can’t blame losing on having the flu.”
I think it's probably better that the Flames DID receive their innoculations away from the crowds. Watching people lining up around a school that I can see from my balcony for their H1N1 shots makes me shudder: it's people lining up for 4 hours outside in the cold wind, then waiting for hours in a cramped, loud, sweaty, and little brat-infested school hallway. People are severely irriated and irrational as it is.
ReplyDeleteNow imagine what it would be like if a bunch of big time sports stars like Jarome Iginla showed up. Out in C-Town, they loves them some Flames I could just see chaos and anger stemming out of that. Forget that they engage in physical contact and are crossing the border; I think that it was in the best interest of public safety that the Flames did it privately.
People often forget that sometimes they need to be protected from themselves because they lose control.