More vaccinations for Albertans in Budget 2014
Posted Mar 18, 2014 11:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The provincial government wants to invest an additional $4 million next year in flu vaccinations.
That’s more than 700 thousand extra vaccinations.
This year’s program spent $8.3 million, and next year’s program would be about $12.5 million.
Health Minister Fred Horne says the additional money would mean vaccinations for 45 per cent of Albertans.
“That would be a considerable jump from this, we hit about 28 per cent, but, as I think a lot of people know, there was a record year in Alberta, we saw more people vaccinated than ever before.”
Horne says the allocation in Budget 2014 is an ambitious target, but it’s needed.
“Most importantly we want to protect people. It’s certainly about people about protecting themselves, but it’s also their family and their community and beyond, so it’s very important we see these numbers increase,” says Horne.
He says the proposed budget increase, is all about keeping people healthy.
“If you vaccinated 30 per cent of your population, you can expect up to 39 deaths from the flu and about 640 hospitalizations. If you vaccinate 50 per cent, the number of deaths goes down to about five and the number of hospitalizations to about 82,” says Horne.
The increase isn’t passed yet, but the money would come from within the health budget.
