Doc says Canada overreacted to H1N1 flu

TORONTO, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A former chief medical officer of health for Ontario says the Canadian government overreacted in ordering H1N1 flu vaccines and now has a surplus.

Dr. Richard Schabas, medical officer of health for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties east of Toronto, told the Toronto Star the vaccine came out too late and the outbreak originally called swine flu has peaked.

He said only 35 million of the 50.4 million doses ordered by federal officials at a cost of more than $400 million have been used.

The country's chief medical officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones told a teleconference Thursday Canadians should still be getting vaccinated, but Schabas said that was misleading.

"I think if you are going to make that push, you at least need to tell people that the outbreak is essentially over and you have to say to people any future risk of H1N1, at least this year, is extremely small," he said.

Across the country, some vaccination clinics have closed because of small or no turnout, the newspaper said. Thursday, Quebec health authorities said they will close all temporary H1N1 vaccination clinics in the province Dec. 18, The (Montreal) Gazette reported.

Butler-Jones said discussions were ongoing with the World Health Organization about what to with the surplus vaccines. He said 373 people in Canada have died from H1N1 flu this year.