Experts make case for swine flu jabs
By Sanjay Tanday, 15 September 2009
Leading immunisation experts have stressed the importance of the forthcoming swine flu vaccination campaign, amid concerns that GPs and patients will refuse the jab.
Last month, a GP newspaper survey found that nearly 60% of GPs would choose not to be vaccinated.
Of those planning to refuse, 71% feared the vaccine had not been tested enough to guarantee safety.
But experts told a media briefing in central London this week that the vaccine was safe having gone through a number of trials, and that many lives would be saved through the vaccination programme.
Professor Robert Dingwall, from the University of Nottingham, said: ‘The CMO investigation has shown that 50% of deaths from swine flu have occurred in the at-risk groups who will be vaccinated.
‘A vaccination programme does not pose the problem of creating resistance which excessive antiviral use could produce.'
He added that cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome were a rare complication more likely to be caused by the influenza virus itself than the actual flu vaccine.
Editor's blog: Do GPs and nurses have a responsibility to get swine flu jabs?
Additional Information
Latest jobs Jobs web feed
- 2X Part Time Salaried GPs Deerness Park Medical Centre Competitive, Sunderland Tyne & Wear
- Full time GP partner - Isle of Man Laxey and Village Walk Health Centres Competitive, Isle of Man
- General Practitioner x 2 for MOD, RAF Leuchars, Fife MMP Competitive hourly rates offered, East Coast of Scotland
- GP Search Consultancy £80 per annum, West Yorkshire
- Locum GPs Urgently Required-West Yorkshire-Earn up to £70per hour! Merco £70/hour, West Yorkshire
- Locum Ophthalmology Consultants required, Nationwide up to £120/hour Merco Up to £120/hour, Nation-wide
Most read
Most commented
MIMS Drug Search
Possible searches include drugs (by brand, generic ingredient or drug class), diseases and more.
