CALGARY - Alberta's Opposition Liberals want the health minister to resign after a decision to temporarily suspend all swine flu vaccination clinics, the party's leader said Sunday.
A national shortage of vaccine has left Alberta and other provinces scrambling to rejig their vaccination programs amid an outpouring of public anger.
Thousands have lined up only to be turned away, many are frustrated at possible queue-jumping by healthy people and confused over what happens next.
Dr. David Swann, who is also a physician, stood outside a closed clinic in Calgary as he accused Health Minister Ron Liepert of mismanaging the province's pandemic response.
"This closure is evidence this government has no capacity to manage our pandemic. It's further evidence of negligence, political interference and mismanagement at a high level," he said.
Alberta's pandemic plan, which public health officials have had access to for years, made a commitment to vaccinate only high-risk individuals first, Swann said. But that plan was apparently tossed out the window, perhaps to make political points with the public, he said.
"For some reason this government chose to subvert that and open the gates to everyone. As a result we have the chaos we have today with ambiguous messaging, increasing anxiety. All of it (was) unnecessary."
When clinics began a week ago, the provincial government asked that the general public stay away and allow high-risk groups to be vaccinated, including pregnant women, those with chronic health conditions and young children. But health officials also said that nobody would be turned away if they wanted a shot.
That attitude changed Saturday when Dr. Gerry Predy, the chief medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services, announced the immediate closure of vaccination clinics. He said that when clinics resume, those who don't fit the proper criteria will be turned away.
A spokesman for the health minister said Liepert wasn't immediately available for comment, but was expected to respond later in the day.
