Swine Flu & Pregnant Women Myth Buster
Myth: Swine flu isn’t that serious for pregnant women, so there’s no need to get vaccinated.
Swine flu causes mild symptoms in most people, but pregnant women are more likely to be seriously ill, as their immune system is naturally suppressed during pregnancy. Evidence suggests pregnant women are considerably more likely to develop serious complications from swine flu and need hospital treatment.
Possible complications are more likely to happen in the second and third trimester, can include pneumonia or difficulty breathing, and in the very worst cases, may result in death.
Myth: The vaccine hasn’t been properly tested and isn’t safe for pregnant women.
The European Medicines Agency has said there is no evidence of risk from vaccinating pregnant women, or those who are breastfeeding, with ‘inactivated’ virus vaccines such as those for swine flu.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended that pregnant women be given Pandemrix (manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline), since one dose of this vaccine gives adequate levels of antibodies and therefore more rapid protection than Celvapan (from Baxter), which requires two doses several weeks apart and, therefore, longer without protection against the virus.
Myth: The vaccine isn’t safe for my unborn baby as it contains mercury.
Pandemrix contains very small quantities of a preservative called thiomersal that contains mercury, which has been used in vaccines for over 60 years to prevent contamination and keep them safe.
World Health Organization and UK Commission on Human Medicine studies have found no evidence of health risks linked to thiomersal, including to pregnant women and their babies.
Myth: The vaccine isn’t safe for pregnant women who have an egg allergy.
There are two versions of the swine flu vaccine, one of which Celvapan by Baxter has been especially created without the use of hens’ eggs, so that it is safe for people with a severe allergic reaction to egg products.
Myth: The vaccine can give pregnant women swine flu.
The vaccine does not carry an ‘activated’ virus, so it cannot give swine flu to pregnant women being vaccinated. A minority may experience mild symptoms like fever, headache and muscle aches as their immune system responds to the vaccine, but this is not flu and will usually disappear in one or two days without treatment.
Myth: There’s no need for pregnant women to get the vaccine if they think they’ve already had swine flu.
Unless a case of swine flu has been confirmed by a laboratory test, most people cannot be certain that they have had the disease, or that they will be protected if the virus mutates. Pregnant women are therefore recommended to receive the vaccination unless they have had a positive test for swine flu.
Myth: If you have the seasonal flu jab, you don’t need the swine flu vaccine.
The seasonal flu vaccination will not protect people against swine flu. People in the at-risk groups for the swine flu vaccine should get both jabs to ensure they are protected against both swine flu and the other flu strains in circulation.
Myth: If pregnant women don’t usually catch the flu, they won’t catch swine flu.
Swine flu is caused by a new strain of the influenza virus called H1N1. Because it is a new type of flu virus, no one has immunity to it and everyone could be at risk of catching and spreading it.
Myth: Pregnant women need to stay off work after receiving the vaccine.
Pregnant women receiving the vaccination can return to their normal routine straight after the jab or in between doses in cases where two are required. As the vaccines do not contain an ‘activated’ virus they do not make a person infectious.
Myth: There’s no point getting the vaccine as it won’t protect pregnant women if the swine flu virus mutates.
While it is impossible to predict if or how the virus will change, experience with the similar vaccine for the bird flu (H5N1) strain suggests the swine flu vaccine would provide a high level of protection from closely related strains.
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