TORONTO (AP) --  Ontario health minister Deb Matthews vowed
Thursday to investigate whether Toronto's NBA and NHL players
jumped the line for the swine flu shot while other groups are
being forced to wait as the province's supply dwindles.

Matthews said she shares the outrage sparked by reports that
Maple Leafs and Raptors players got the shot even though the
province doesn't have enough yet to vaccinate school-age
children.

"I don't care who you are, how rich you are, how famous you
are," she said. "If you're not in the priority group, get out of
the line and let the people who are in the priority groups get
their vaccination."

Matthews expects Ontario to run out of the regular H1N1 vaccine
at the end of the week due to Ottawa's dramatic supply slowdown.

The province has enough vaccine to immunize 2.2 million people,
which is intended only for the estimated 3.4 million Ontarians
who fall under the province's high-priority groups, she said.

They include pregnant women, children between 6 months and 5
years of age, people who care for infants and other people who
can't get the vaccine, people under the age of 65 with chronic
conditions and those living in remote communities. The
government wants to add school-age children as a priority group,
but Matthews said it doesn't have enough vaccine.

She doesn't yet know how the Maple Leafs and Raptors players got
the shot.

A health employee in Alberta was fired after letting the Calgary
Flames jump the swine flu shot line.