Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I want to welcome our witnesses and thank them for being here this afternoon to help us with our study.
First of all, I want to come back to a discussion this committee had last week and ask the Canadian Medical Association a question.
You put out a postcard for health professionals entitled H1N1 flu virus. Prepare yourself. Prepare your practice. Prepare your patients. Under the “Prepare yourself” column, the first recommendation is “Get a flu shot.” That is a guideline or recommendation for health professionals and doctors. Under the “Prepare your patients” column, the first recommendation is “Ensure your patients get a flu shot.”
Many Canadians are wondering why they need a flu shot, and there is a lot of information on this topic out there, especially on the Internet. Can you tell us why the Canadian Medical Association recommends that Canadians and health professionals get a flu shot?