Health Minister Deb Matthews must explain to Ontarians how professional athletes were able to access dwindling supplies of H1N1 vaccine while school-age children are still waiting to learn when they’ll be able to get it, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said today.

“The minister has a responsibility to know exactly where Ontario’s vaccine supply is going,” Horwath said. “Were million-dollar athletes able to tap into the province’s vaccine supply ahead of our kids? Ontarians deserve to know.”

Horwath noted that families are still waiting for the health minister to provide details as to when school-age children will be eligible to be vaccinated.

Other provinces have already announced details of their plans to vaccinate school-age children. This week, Saskatchewan announced that the vaccine will be expanded province-wide this week and next to include children from kindergarten to grade six. In Ontario, the government says school-age children will have to “be patient.”

The NDP Leader noted the math still doesn’t add up when it comes to the McGuinty government’s vaccination rollout. Media reports show that as of yesterday most provinces had administered at least half of the vaccine supplies they’ve received to date. But as of yesterday, Ontario had only administered just a fraction of the 2.2 million doses the province has received.

“It’s time for the McGuinty government to start being clear with Ontario families,” Horwath said. “The government is running ads pleading for families to be patient, but parents are still waiting to find out why million-dollar athletes are getting priority over their kids.”