HSE changes flu policy for pregnant women

IN A SIGNIFICANT change to national influenza vaccine policy, family doctors have been asked to recall pregnant women who have been given the swine flu vaccine so that they can also be immunised with the seasonal flu vaccine.

Following a meeting of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) on Monday, Dr Kevin Kelleher, assistant national director of population health at the Health Service Executive, wrote to GPs yesterday advising them of the policy change which applies to all pregnant women and those who have given birth within the last six weeks.

He advised doctors the change was necessary because of the number of influenza B cases seen in recent weeks as “there is evidence that influenza B can cause significant morbidity for pregnant women”. The latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show almost 20 per cent of confirmed flu cases are due to the influenza B virus.

Asked if the advice applied regardless of when pregnant women had received pandemic H1N1 vaccine, Dr Kelleher said the recommendation applied to all pregnant women who were relying on past immunisation with pandemic vaccine designed to combat swine flu.

“Even those women who have received only pandemic vaccine previously remain at risk for influenza during the current influenza season. Seasonal flu vaccine will offer protection against both the H1N1 and influenza B strains.”

Seasonal flu vaccine could be given at any stage of pregnancy, the NIAC confirmed. However, there must be a gap of at least three weeks since a woman received a swine flu shot before the seasonal vaccine could be administered.

Predicting an element of confusion for patients following the change, Dr Mel Bates of the Irish College of General Practitioners said the HSE “did not appreciate the level of anxiety GPs see around influenza vaccination across the entire population”. However he expected family doctors would have adequate supplies of seasonal flu vaccine to immunise at-risk groups.

While experts correctly predicted that influenza A (H1N1) 2009 would be the main virus contributing to this winter’s epidemic, the level of influenza B infection was unexpected. However, in keeping with its annual practice, the World Health Organisation has included a strain of influenza B in this year’s seasonal vaccine, which matches the strain of virus now in circulation.

There have been three confirmed deaths in the Republic from flu so far this winter.