Don't blame the Calgary Flames for swiping swine flu shots for their players, coaches, staff members and their families. Blame the culture of celebrity. Since most hockey players are big stars north of the border, blame Canada. Blame Alberta Health Services, the agency responsible.But don't get all high and mighty about the Flames getting vaccinated while thousands of Alberta residents waited all day or were turned away at clinics throughout the province. The hockey team did not ask for preferential treatment. They only asked for treatment. Why a squad from Alberta Health provided the Flames with their own clinic is something the agency will have to explain. One suggestion for the investigators: start with the team's head physician. Those docs tend to be deeply connected.
If you haven't heard about the controversy, it's all the rage in Canada. The Alberta government is trying to determine how the Flames were vaccinated for the H1N1 virus on Friday. At the same time Calgary's hockey team and its extended family were being taken care of at an undisclosed location, countless citizens waited on endless lines and several clinics were closed as Alberta Health re-focused its vaccination program on high-risk patients. Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert said the swine flu shots were "inappropriately diverted" to the hockey club.
On Tuesday, Flames president Ken King said the franchise simply contacted Alberta Health Services and followed all guidelines. "Our organization and medical staff felt that our players should receive the vaccination, given the risks associated with frequent physical contact, extreme exertion and onerous domestic and cross-border travel," King said in a statement.
OK, so King did not explain the extra shots provided for the spouses and children of front office executives, but the Flames' request was not illegal. King added, "Our players did not seek to either avoid lineups or get special attention."
Whether he meant to or not, Edmonton Oilers VP Allan Watt took a shot across Alberta at the hated Flames. Responding to a question about the Oilers' plan for vaccination, Watt said, "If a player wants to get a shot, he can go to a clinic just like any person."
And therein lies the argument that has transcended the playing surface and has Western Canada in an uproar. The Alberta government was receiving mounting criticism well before the Flames controversy. The beloved hockey team -- the pride of Calgary win, lose or overtime loss -- is getting some rare heat. "The majority of fans and Albertans are pointing their fingers at Health Services," said Fan590 sports radio host Rob Kerr, "but the Flames have been hit a bit with this notion that they're queue-jumpers."
That's life. If Jarome Iginla wants tickets for a hot concert at the Saddledome, he can score as many as he wants. Although at $6 million a year Dion Phaneuf is the last guy to need anyone's generosity, no doubt his tabs have been picked up by the owners of local restaurants many times.
In the final report, chances are there won't be mention of any pictures taken and autographs signed during the inoculation. But if anyone thinks the Flames were not given the star treatment with these swine flu shots, they're kidding themselves. Just don't kill the franchise for asking. Within the rules, the Flames were only trying to take care of their own.
While the investigation of the Flames' very special clinic is ongoing, Alberta Health Services announced a new vaccination plan favoring pregnant women and young children. There's no truth to the rumor the plan also extends to anyone named Sutter.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
"That's life. If Jarome Iginla wants tickets for a hot concert at the Saddledome, he can score as many as he wants. Although at $6 million a year Dion Phaneuf is the last guy to need anyone's generosity, no doubt his tabs have been picked up by the owners of local restaurants many times."
This type of thing is SO 100% true. I know many guys in national bands and MAN are most of them total cheapasses when it comes to going to shows, sports events, etc. They get comped ALL the time- and the ones with the money are the worst lol.
See what a national health care system does for the working class people footing the bill
Members of sporting teams that share locker rooms and play a full contact sport absolutely are at higher risk than the general public -- and *should* get priority for vaccination.
Obviously, I'm not stupid, and I don't believe that this logic was used in this instance. Clearly, they were vaccinated like this because they're celebrities & affluent and someone pulled strings.
That being said, they (and other members of sporting teams, whether professional or amateur) should receive priority just like kids & pregnant women. Since H1N1 has shown a proclivity for killing healthy adults that isn't normally seen in seasonal flu, healthy adults should *not* be excluded or bumped down the priority list. The only people who should be low priority with swine flu vaccinations are the elderly, because the overwhelming majority of them are immune.
Football players, basketball players, and the like should all get priority treatment. We all share close proximity with others at some point, but an athlete has unusual risks during a game. Sweating means that you have an active form of fluid transport moving contagion around the face and into the eyes, while that same sweat (and contact) gives an additional means of exuding virus for someone already infected. On public transportation your primary risk would be someone sneezing or coughing at you without covering their mouth, or touching a surface and then touching your face. Athletes during games spread germs much more efficiently -- which is why you so often hear disgusting stories about a team with a stomach virus playing another team, and that other team then suffering an outbreak from the virus.
Additionally, athletes travel extensively. Anyone who does so represents a hazard as a potential spreader of virus -- so there's another reason to inoculate them. (Same would go for traveling salesmen & the like.)
Note: I didn't read the article but I am going to presume that it is the exact same article that every other site is currently posting.
I actually think this was a legit decision. The Flames, with the amount of traveling that they do, will likely come into contact with more people than the average person. They are more prone to get it than most people and are also more prone to spread it.
You think so, Josh? Regular people, at least where I live, take packed trains to work and are surrounded by coughing strangers all the time. I'd wager that on any given work day taking public transportation I come into contact with just as many people as an NHLer on a given day...probably closer contact too since there aren't exactly first class accomodations on NJ Transit!
The joke is on them. Batches of H1N1 are contaminated with live virus just like the bird-flu scandal. The Czech Republic government has refused to distribute the vaccine because their lab tests show the vaccine is contaminated and kills at a higher rate than the flu itself.
with the shortage of swine flu vaccines -- I would hope our government and health care professionals are not giving it out to illegal aliens before all citizens get a chance to get it ! AMERICANS SHOULD BE IMMUNIZED BEFORE ILLEGAL ALIENS.
I think this is just the medias way of hyping up the vaccine, which is probably more deadly then the swine flu itself. Everybody educate before you vaccinate. Do yo really want a doctor injecting you with something you know nothing about. Check out the main ingredients in it. Almost all of them are toxic. Their is even potassium sodium in it which is used for abortions and lethal injection for death row.
They could not pay me any amount to make me get the H1N1 shot, or any other flu shot.
For SHAME Calgary Flames, and don't try to blame celebrity. My niece has a congenital heart defect, she could die from a common cold, and she was forced to stand in line for four hours. You are way overpaid and should be ashamed.
I hope you can sleep at night.