Mumsnet Talk

Good news for those who have been trying to be vaccinated with Celvapan instead of the Pandemrix. This link is from the Department of Health. It is a letter sent out by the National Director of NHS Flu Resilience, Department of Health. He says that Pandemrix does not pose a risk to pregnant women or their babies. HOWEVER, as it is better to be vaccinated than not at all, if a pregnant women does not wish to receive Pandemrix, PCTs should ensure that there are arrangements in place for her to receive the Celvapan, and that GPs are aware of this.

Here is the link-
here

I would print it out and take it to your GP requesting the Celvapan or call your local Primary Care Trust and present them with this paper if they are not aware of it.

I would also like to add that I have received my first dose of Celvapan today and have had no problems as of yet except for an ache in my arm ( which has already gone away.) I'm 32wks pregnant.

Want to bump this up so others see it - so glad the DOH have taken that position - I also had Celvapan and very glad I did - just hoping others can get it now if it makes the decision to have the jab a little easier.

WOO HOO!!! Thanks for that mommymeggie.

What's the difference?

lowrib- Celvapan is a preservative free shot from Thimorsal, which has mercury in it. It also doesn't have squalene. Both have been very controversial ingredients and have left pregnant women very uncomfortable with taking the Pandemrix, myself included. Some countries only give preservative free shots to pregnant women.

mommymeggie: please present the information in a more balanced way.

There are other very significant differences, such as Pandemrix giving protection far quicker than Celvapan (14 days versus 42 days) and that Celvepan is a 2 dose schedule.

Note that due to Celvapan not having any preservative, a multi-dose vial is only good for 3 hours after removal from the fridge. Therefore GP practices that are vaccinating with it, will have to be extremely organised to ensure it is given within the licencing restriction.

Cheers both of you, I understand the difference now.

As for the Celvapan being a 2 dose vaccine, would it bother you to have to make two trips up to the clinic to receive a safer vaccine for yourself and baby? If you read the memo that is linked in my last post, it says that the swine flu has seen a decrease, even though its still a bit early, but is good news that it hasn't been spreading as predicted. So I'm in no rush for a stronger vaccine to work quicker. Read the posts that women have said after having their jab....red sore arms that are painful with a red knot and some said it was hard to sleep on the their side. When I had the Celvapan jab, nothing! It was so similar to the seasonal flu jab, which I also had. And as Musa said about Celvapan having to be refridgerated and physicians having to be extremely organized to ensure it is given properly, well thats the least of my worries! I trust these people with my health, I'm sure they know what their doing as to giving someone a shot! Its def the better choice than putting mercury and squalene into your body when your pregnant. And I'm glad to see the Department of Health has allowed pregnant women to have that choice. As lucy101 has said " it makes the decision of having the jab a little easier!"

Just a note on giving a second dose - here in Ireland they are giving just one dose of the Celvapan not two. Apparently Baxter the makers are going to publish trial data shortly that shows that one dose is enough.

my dd has not been offerd the jab for the swine flu shes 17 weeks pg ,so is she better off hving the celvapan one !!

Oh that's really good news, thanks for the post! My GP said it was Pandemrix or nothing and if I was still worried I could choose to wait until after 20 weeks to be sure that all of baby's major organs etc had developed.

Really hope they'll give it to me.

Thats fantastic Lucy101, thanks for that! Hopefully the data will come out soon as I have my second dose on Dec 11th. If you find it b/f then, please post it for me, thanks again!

Ilovesprouts- I've read where women are having it at any trimester. There are controversial issues over the two shots so I would recommend reading up on why and making a decision that you and your DD think is best for her. My personal opinion (which I feel very strong about) is yes, the Celvapan is safer b/c it is preservative free from Thimerosal, and doesn't contain squalene. A lot of pregnant women also feel the same way and have requested the Celvapan but have been denied. Thats where the memo came into effect, allowing us to receive it over the Pandemrix. Here is a link I found helpful in understanding the Thimerosal and squalene.....but it is an opinion from a doctor in the US, although he documents things pretty well!
here

lucasmama08- If you want the Celvapan, just copy the memo and take it to your GP, or write down the website address and have him look it up for you. Or you could call directly to your Primary Care Trust and explain the memo ( they should know by now about it though) and request the vaccine. Hope that helps!

Thanks for posting about this. I still haven't been contacted about either vaccine and umming and ahhing. I'm going to call tomorrow and ask about this, as would feel much more comfortable with Celvapan.

Thanks

Thanks mommymeggie - it's getting past the reception mafia that will be the challenge I suspect! I shall let you know how I get on.

Thank you so much mommymeg for this info, you ladies really are amazing with all the knowledge you have. After many mc's i would certainly never take a drug with mercury in it as i just could't live with myself if something went wrong. The celvapan sounds much better.
Thanks
sueXXX.

Just bumping this again for anyone who hasn't heard....

I know I was very relieved to hear about this on the news, as I've been agonising over what to do...

Thanks for posting it OP!

Thank you very much! This is just what I've been waiting for. Celvapan all the way for me (I was just thinking I haven't been offered any vaccine yet and am 27 weeks....)

I'll get onto the GP tomorrow.

Don't breath a sigh of relief too quickly....another lady in my NCT group who is also pregnant called up her PCT to get the Celvapan (after her GP has feigned ignornance)....they were very nice and helpful, and said "of course you can have it - let us get back to you with dates"....and then got back to her to say that it would be at least a couple of weeks before they got some more in, and then it would take them a week or so to organise the clinics...so with the whole double dose thing to achieve ammunity, she worked out she would be well into the new year until protected!!!

It's really a bit annoying that they have only got round to this now, with the flu season imminent.....and makes it very hard for those scheduled to have the other vaccine as it's now a case of "do I take the chance and wait for the Celvapan, or have the other one now".

I hope that the rest of you have better luck with your PCTs and there is adequate stock!!! Good Luck!

Yaay!

I've just spoken to the Practice Mgr at our local GP surgery, who has said he has placed an order for Calvepan, but doesn't know when he will get it in (200 doses). Apparently 15-20 people have requested it, for various reasons.

So for me, it is a case of wait for Calvepan or go for Pandemrix now. He has another vaccine mtg on 5th December, so suggested I call back beginning of week after next.

Surprisingly, he was totally happy about me having Calvepan, didn't try to persuade me towards Pandemrix and said if I would prefer to wait, that is fine. He couldn't say when the order will arrive.

For the sake of a fortnight, I'm going to wait I think and then think again if they're still no closer to having it in. I'm 22 weeks at the moment.

The Practice Manager also said (whether this is true or not) that even though it takes longer for full immunity from Calvepan, it will start to build some immunity (and gradually build up) from the first jab.

I guess some practices are only just receiving the letter but I personally think it's worth waiting for.

My practice has told me that they are using their "very limited" stocks of Celvapan to treat "priority cases" first and will look at offering it to pregnant women if and when the first stage of their vaccination programme is over and there are stocks remaining. But I should be aware that Pandemrix is very safe etc, etc and the prefered vaccination route for pregnant women, they wouldn't be offering if there was any doubts and I shouldn't believe everything I read online....

Also wanted to bump this up, as I'm sure very few people are aware of this recent change...

I had to jump through hoops to get anywhere with it, but finally managed (after printing off the document linked to above - thanks mommiemeggie - and leaving copies with all the health care professionals and receptionists refusing to acknowledge my request) to get myself added to a waiting list for Celvapan. The local policy seems to be that they need 10 people to request it (the vial contains 10 doses) before they can order a vial in - but it's a step in the right direction.

I'd urge anyone wanting the SF vaccine, but not prepared to accept Pandremix, to keep nagging the doctors until you get what you're entitled to - particularly anyone in the North Kent area who wants to join me on the local waiting list!

I'm having the same problem at my surgery. First off they were late getting the Pandemrix through and I spent weeks talking back and forth to various people about how to get Cevlapan..the level of ignorance was quite scary!
The surgery still havn't heard anything "officially" about it being made avaliable to pregnant women who request it but I printed off the letter that mommiemeggie posted (Huge thanks!) and took that down with me and forced it under the nose of a few people. A bit of back and forth and several calls later I've also been told that they probably won't have any more Cevlapan for us difficult mums-to-be for atleast 2-3weeks.
I've been advised by the practise sister to try and avoid anyone with SV until I get the vaccine...great...and I was planning a party for sufferers!
I'm going to call back next week and see what the news is and keep pestering until I get a date for the jab.Wouldn't want them to miss me calling LOL
What worries me the most though is the fact that so many pregnant women are probably unaware of the problems possibly associated with Pandemrix and I doubt the doctors in most places are going out of their way to lay it all out for them. A friend of mine had the Pandemrix 2 weeks ago and is now worried sick and probably will have it in the back of her mind for years to come.
This whole situation has been managed terribly by the government and the NHS!