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Swine Flu vaccination, “Pandemrix” confirmed start October 26th

A pregnant teen who died on thursday from Swine Flu, (H1N1) became the 106th British confirmed death from H1N1. The Department of Health announced that a national vaccination campaign will start on October 26th using the GlaxoSmithKline product, “Pandemrix”.

Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson said that patients deemed “at risk”, such as pregnant women will begin receiving a jab. Six woman have died while pregnant or after giving birth as a result of contracting the Swine Flu virus and estimates are that about 370,000 people have contracted Swine Flu in Britain.

There have been 83 deaths in England, 15 in Scotland, 4 in Wales and 4 in Northern Ireland.

On vaccinations for mothers-to-be, Sir Liam said: “While the disease is mild for the majority of people including pregnant women, pregnant women are at higher risk of complications caused by flu. I know they wish to reduce risks to themselves and their unborn babies and therefore the sensible thing would be to have the vaccine. I do not want to see pregnant women dying from a preventable disease.”

The World Health Organisation updated its guidance for expectant mothers yesterday to support the use of Pandemrix. It said: “The World Health Organisation supports the use of vaccines as recommended by functional regulatory authorities. The GSK [GlaxoSmithKline] vaccine has been licensed for use in pregnant women in Europe, as of September 2009.”

The vaccine will also be offered to frontline health workers.

         

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