Finance committee  In Canada, after any vaccine—not only the Merck vaccine, but any vaccine—has been approved and has passed the tests of safety and efficacy, there's a national body called the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, composed of specialists and representatives from every singl

Finance committee  Right now, there is no funding system. Funding comes from the provinces. In 2003, your government allocated $300 million because there were four pediatric vaccines at the time that were not covered, except in Alberta, because it had more money. Your government realized that it wa

Finance committee  They could fund it, but there is not really any leadership in the infectious disease field or in public health. It is important to remember that health is under provincial jurisdiction. But when it comes to public health, the provinces cannot work in isolation. The threat of a pa

Finance committee  I could give you a long answer, but I will try to be brief. The $100 million is an incentive to encourage the provinces to act. If we look at funding for the national immunization strategy over the past six years, the $300 million that was invested every three years has had an i

Finance committee  Good morning. My name is Christian Blouin and I am here today representing Merck Frosst. I would like to begin by thanking you for allowing us to address you today. We at Merck Frosst Canada are recommending that the government renew funding for the National Immunization Strateg