McGUINTY
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES START OF FREE CHILD
VACCINATION PROGRAM
Young Ontarians Will Be
Protected With Three New Vaccines Starting in July and September
TORONTO
– The McGuinty government is moving quickly to protect the health of
children in Ontario by providing free vaccinations against pneumococcal
disease, chicken pox and meningitis, Health and Long-Term Care Minister
George Smitherman announced today.
“Infants
and very young children are the most vulnerable members of our society,
and we need to do everything possible to protect them from illness and
death,” Smitherman said. “Our government is making Ontario a leader in
preventing childhood diseases and we are doing it as quickly as possible.
With this program, we will be going from a province with one of the worst
records on immunization, to one of the best. We’re delivering real
positive change that will keep Ontarians healthy.”
The program
will be fully implemented by January 1, 2005. Starting on that date, all
children born in Ontario on, or after, January 1, 2004, will have access
to the three new free vaccines, as part of their routine immunization.
“I’m
delighted we’re responding quickly to parents who have been anxious to
know when we would be starting our new free vaccination programs,” said
Dr. Sheela Basrur, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.
“Vaccinations must and will be available to all who need them.”
It is
expected that covering the cost of the three vaccines will save Ontario
parents more than $600 per child. The Plan for Change Budget last
month included $156 million, over three years, to add these three new free
vaccinations.
"The
McGuinty government has demonstrated real leadership by adding the
meningococcal and pneumococcal meningitis vaccines on the province's
routine immunization schedule," said Kathryn Blain, Chair of the
Meningitis Research Foundation of Canada, who lost her son Michael Longo
in 1995 to meningococcal septicemia. "Ontario's move will help ensure
that children no longer suffer from the effects of these preventable
diseases."
"As
a paediatrician, I am relieved to see Ontario moving to make the vaccines
available to children quickly and free of charge to parents," said
Dr. Diane Sacks, president of the Canadian Paediatric Society.
"Making sure that all children are immunized against serious
diseases, regardless of a families personal financial situation, is a key
step in ensuring the health of young Ontarians."
