Help from province sought to cover $27-million plan

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Toronto's executive committee has voted to postpone for a month plans to set up a stockpile of antiviral vaccines that would be used in the event of an influenza pandemic, to see if the provincial government will help cover the $27-million cost of the plan.

"The best we can do in terms of trying to affect the pandemic movement for the better is to focus the mind of the provincial government on the issue," said deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, who convinced committee-members to wait to start spending money on stockpiling drugs and other supplies in the event of a pandemic outbreak in Toronto.

The plan came forward from Toronto's Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown. If approved by council, it would see the city set up a warehouse to store massive amounts of antiviral medication - Tamiflu and Relenza - to help the city continue functioning in the event Toronto was to be struck by an outbreak of avian influenza or something similar.

As of Jan. 24, the World Health Organization has maintained a worldwide pandemic alert at Phase Three, meaning there are cases in which humans have been infected by the disease, but no cases of human-to-human spread.

However, the disease is highly fatal at a rate of 60.1 per cent. And the city has been planning for the grim eventuality of an outbreak.

Part of that planning involves ensuring that vital city workers in emergency services and transportation are inoculated so that they can continue to provide services, and the stockpiling plan is a major part of that.

However, communications with the province last year indicated that there is still no clear-cut provincial plan for dealing with an outbreak. So city staff have come up with a made-in-Toronto solution that would see the city maintain and finance its own stockpile.

That would involve spending $4.7 million purchasing the antiviral medication Tamiflu, and another $606,000 to set up a warehousing and distribution system.

In 2009, the city would begin stockpiling personal protective equipment, and an eight-week operational supply stock.

Politicians weren't anxious to make a decision on the matter immediately, however.

Mayor David Miller supported Pantalone's motion.

"I'm prepared to defer for one cycle of meetings, but I do want to support the intention," said Miller. "I do think its appropriate for the City of Toronto to show leadership on this issue... for the simple reason that it's the cities where emergencies happen and its with our frontline staff. It's our firefighters, it's our homes for the aged employees, our bus operators our police and our emergency medical services personnel."

The matter will come forward again in April.