Maple Leafs, Raptors Latest Canadian Teams To Get H1N1 Vaccine
 |
Maple Leafs Players Get H1N1 Vaccine After
Two Marlies Players Are Thought To Have Virus |
Though the H1N1 flu vaccine is "supposed to be available only to members of high-risk groups" in Canada, it was "made available to players" on the Maple Leafs this week, according to sources cited by David Shoalts of the GLOBE & MAIL. Sources noted that the vaccine was made available to the team after all players and staff of the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, "received the vaccine recently because two Marlies players were thought to have contracted the virus." A spokesperson for the Raptors, who along with the Maple Leafs are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, said that "some of their players and staff had also been vaccinated." Shoalts notes the vaccine is in "short supply throughout Canada," and the Maple Leafs and Raptors insisted that the teams "did not receive the vaccination outside the usual channels and did not jump any lines at medical clinics." The teams said that the "close contact between teammates and opponents plus the heavy travel schedule makes infection a high risk for sports teams" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/5). Meanwhile, in Ottawa, Chris Stevenson notes the Senators "aren't going outside the normal channels or even making the flu shot mandatory for players." Senators GM Bryan Murray: "When it becomes available, we would encourage the players to do it, but we have to wait our turn" (OTTAWA SUN, 11/5).
TAKING THE FALL: In Calgary, Michelle Lang reports Alberta Health Services (AHS) yesterday fired a "mid-level manager ... who helped the Calgary Flames jump the queue for H1N1 flu vaccinations," and said that "disciplinary action may also be taken against other staff." AHS said that it "dismissed the unidentified manager because allowing the NHL team preferential access to the shots was a serious error in judgment." AHS Senior VP/Communications Roman Cooney added that the person was "senior enough that the Flames would have no reason to believe the decision to go ahead with the shots was inappropriate" (CALGARY HERALD, 11/5).
SHOT IN THE ARM: A CALGARY HERALD editorial states individuals who are "outraged that members of the Calgary Flames got their H1N1 shots last Friday should chill out," as there was "nothing wrong with making the vaccinations available to the team." One of the "most enigmatic aspects of the H1N1 virus is the way it has been singling out younger people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, the demographic of the Flames players." The team also is "at greater risk of contracting the virus because they play in a venue where thousands of people gather, and where they are swarmed by dozens of fans, including children" (CALGARY HERALD, 11/5). But in a front-page piece for the Vancouver SUN, Craig McInnes writes the Flames "should have been subject to the national guidelines, under which athletes are a long, long way from the front of the line" (Vancouver SUN, 11/5). In Toronto, Dave Perkins writes, "Here's all anyone needs to know: There are rules and laws for the rich and famous and rules and laws for everyone else" (TORONTO STAR, 11/5).
|
Related Stories By Company
|
Related Stories By Sport
|
Jeff Vinik's Lightning Deal Worth $110M
February 8, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Bettman Addresses Thrashers' Struggles
February 8, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Hicks Hires Galatioto To Study Sale Of Stars
February 5, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Vinik Trying To Lower Lightning Price
February 3, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Islanders To Train In China This Fall
February 3, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
Jeff Vinik's Lightning Deal Worth $110M
February 8, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Bettman Addresses Thrashers' Struggles
February 8, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
NBA Owners Send Initial CBA Proposal To Union
February 8, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Jeffrey Vinik Agrees To Purchase Lightning
February 5, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Hicks Hires Galatioto To Study Sale Of Stars
February 5, 2010 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
|
