Thank you very much.
Good afternoon. The last time I appeared before the committee, I promised to get back to you regarding one of your questions. You should have received the pandemic information sheet on pandemic vaccine monitoring and surveillance.
This is a follow-up of the promise we made to you that you would be receiving the details about the various surveillance systems to assess the secondary effects. This is to let you know that you should have it now.
As a start, I would like to briefly give you the situation in Canada with the H1N1 flu virus. As you know, we are in the second wave nationally, and as you have seen in the media, there has recently been a death reported. We are very saddened by that, but this is, unfortunately, part of this disease. It was expected. It is expected that there will be a number of hospitalizations and ICU cases with ventilation requirements, and deaths will continue. For that reason, it is very important to continue to put into application the recommendations on public health that we have made, the package of recommendations, certainly the preventive ones, which include the vaccine. This is, to stress again, a new disease.
It is a new strain of the flu. It is very different from seasonal influenza, which has been relatively stable over the past 30 years. When a new flu strain emerges, the first wave can be fairly minor, moderate, but the second and subsequent waves can often be fairly serious. That is very important to keep in mind. As you now know, the vaccine is available in all provinces and territories. Flu shot clinics are underway. We are encouraging all Canadians to get vaccinated.
I would also like to mention that since the last presentation by Dr. Butler-Jones there has been new guidance. This is the one that was published today and is available on the web. It's about public transportation, for people travelling in trains, buses, boats, and ships. These guidelines are not only for the people using mass transportation, but also for the staff working on these modes of transportation. It is also for the agencies and the operators. This is to complement the wealth, if I may use that word, of the various guidelines, recommendations, and information that we have put out for the health professionals, schools, people at home taking care of people who are sick, and so on. This is a complement, and again we stress the importance that it is an individual responsibility to protect oneself and one's family.
I would like to stop there to give an opportunity to my colleague to present, and for questions. Thank you very much.