Ottawa

Swine flu vaccine not mandatory, McGuinty says

Ontario will not force health-care workers or anyone else to be vaccinated against swine flu.

Ontario will not force health-care workers or anyone else to be vaccinated against swine flu.

Premier Dalton McGuinty says he'll rely on the expert advice of Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, when it comes to vaccinating health-care workers against H1N1.

McGuinty says protocols are being worked out as to which groups at risk from the flu should receive the vaccine first, but adds the province won't force anyone to take the shot.

He says the government cannot "hold anybody down and inject them with a vaccine when they don't want it."

McGuinty says he's "very confident" that Ontario has a solid plan to deal with swine flu and has enough vaccinations and medication should the need arise.

Experts expected a second wave of H1N1 this winter, but swine flu activity is already picking up in the U.S., and parts of Canada, including British Columbia, are seeing an increase in cases.

The fear is that the wave may crest before a vaccine is ready, or that the vaccine will arrive too late to make a difference.