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15/10/2009
Mums-In-Wating Get Unproved Flu Jab
It has emerged that pregnant women are to get a form of swine flu vaccine that is not recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The vaccine Pandemrix, which makes up the bulk of NHS supply, contains a chemical called an adjuvant that has never been tested on mums-to-be.
The WHO Strategic Advisory Group said that pregnant women should be given adjuvant-free formulations of the vaccine whenever possible.
But the Department of Health's Director of Immunisations Professor David Salisbury said that even though the NHS has stocks of an alternative vaccine called Celvapan, it will not be prioritised for pregnant women
"If the virus is increasing, as it has been recently and we had the supply of one vaccine ahead of the other, then we have to make a judgement that says pregnant women are at high risk and they need to be protected.
"In those circumstances I would recommend whatever is available to hand to protect them," he told Sky News today.
The Department of Health says pregnant women are four times more likely to suffer serious complications if they catch swine flu and vaccination is essential.
It insists Pandemrix is safe and licensed for mums-to-be.
However, the licence was granted by medicine regulators based on clinical trials in healthy adults.
(BMcC/GK)
The vaccine Pandemrix, which makes up the bulk of NHS supply, contains a chemical called an adjuvant that has never been tested on mums-to-be.
The WHO Strategic Advisory Group said that pregnant women should be given adjuvant-free formulations of the vaccine whenever possible.
But the Department of Health's Director of Immunisations Professor David Salisbury said that even though the NHS has stocks of an alternative vaccine called Celvapan, it will not be prioritised for pregnant women
"If the virus is increasing, as it has been recently and we had the supply of one vaccine ahead of the other, then we have to make a judgement that says pregnant women are at high risk and they need to be protected.
"In those circumstances I would recommend whatever is available to hand to protect them," he told Sky News today.
The Department of Health says pregnant women are four times more likely to suffer serious complications if they catch swine flu and vaccination is essential.
It insists Pandemrix is safe and licensed for mums-to-be.
However, the licence was granted by medicine regulators based on clinical trials in healthy adults.
(BMcC/GK)
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Overweight mothers pose health risk, study claims
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Nice Suggests More Midwife-Led Home Births
Women who are healthy and experiencing a 'straight forward' (low risk) pregnancy should be encouraged to give birth in a midwife-led unit rather than a traditional labour ward, according to draft proposals from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
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