| Pregnant Women Are Refusing H1N1
Swine Flu Vaccine Over Safety Fears
Millions of people are shunning the swine flu jab over fears
about its safety, a survey of GPs suggests.
It found that fewer than half of those offered the vaccination
are taking it up - with pregnant women the most likely to say
no.
Anyone in 'at risk' groups between the ages of six months and
65 years - 11 million people in all - are being offered the jab.
But doctors said that just 46 per cent were taking it.
One GP said as few as one in 20 pregnant women had been vaccinated,
even though studies have shown they are four times as likely to
end up in hospital if they catch the virus.
The survey, in Pulse magazine, revealed many believed the virus
is just too mild to warrant having the vaccine.
The survey of 107 GPs, published in Pulse magazine, follows others
which suggest many doctors and nurses were also forgoing the vaccine.
In the latest poll, doctors estimated the take-up rate among
their patients was 46 per cent. Only 37 per cent believed they
would vaccinate more than half of their at-risk patients.
Dr Chris Udenze, who works in Nottingham, said: 'In all the pregnant
women we've offered it to, I think only about one in 20 has agreed.'
A GP in Kensington said he was encountering 'considerable scepticism'
from pregnant women. And Dr Sharon Shmueli, a GP in Swindon, said
fewer than 25 per cent of pregnant patients at her practice had
chosen to be vaccinated.
The DoH has contracts with two major drugs firms to provide enough
vaccine for the entire population.
Richard Hoey, editor of Pulse, said: 'Many patients, like a substantial
number of doctors, are unconvinced there is sufficient evidence
that swine flu vaccination is safe and necessary.
'The Government needs to be much clearer about the safety data
it has gathered on the vaccine so far.
'It also needs to publish a full justification for the priority
risks groups it has picked out for vaccination, to convince the
public that the people being prioritised really are those who
will benefit most.'
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Reference Sources 231
November 18, 2009
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