Major Jason Proulx, of the DND media liason office at national headquarters in Ottawa, just provided the following statement to my colleagues at Global National in response to reports (not ours) that Taliban prisoners captured by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan were receiving H1N1 shots even as many in Canada were told they can't get one for weeks.
““Vaccinations against H1N1 are being offered to members of the Canadian forces and Canadian civilian personnel deployed in Afghanistan. The Canadian forces are providing appropriate medical care to those in their custody. Offering vaccinations to detainees for H1N1 would be based on medical need and at this point there is no program to vaccinate detainees. No vaccine has been provided to any detainee.”
Proulx may be correct but The Canadian Press is reporting that while “no vaccine has been provided to any detainee”, it's about to. Beginning Wednesday.