Swine Flu Vaccination for Pregnant Women

[Charleney]

I seen on the news that pregnant women should have the vaccination for swine flu but i actually had swine flu last year and was given tamiflu.. would i still need to be vaccinated? Im 22 weeks pregnant?

[LDNlady]

The chief medical officer has just said that once you've had swine flu you won't get it again but you can still catch influenza B which is another flu virus going around. You should still have the flu vaccine to protect yourself against the other strains. I am booked in for mine on Wednesday.

[lucy101]

I have had a letter from my GP saying that if you had the swine flu vaccination last year you do not need it this year... but that doesn't mean you can't get other types of flu.

I am guessing that the same info. would apply to you if you actually had swine flu last year.

[jasmine51]

There seem to be different versions of the vaccine as my gp had to look up on a chart which one to give me. Go and have it anyway, it will protect you against the more common flu strains

[lucybrad]

and unless you were laboratory tested for swine flu - i wouldnt rely on that diagnoses for last year, as the symptoms were very similar to other illnesses.

[bessie26]

I was offered 2 jabs. Last years swine flu vaccine, and this years seasonal flu shot, which includes vaccines against several flu viruses, including the variant of the swine flu the WHO think is most likely to hit us this year.
I've had the seasonal one & am booked in for the swine flu one on Monday.

[dikkertjedap]

Hi Lucy101 I wonder if your GP is mistaken, see here - (this explains that flu vaccines including swine flu vaccine only give short term protection ie up to one season), which suggests you do need to get vaccinated again. TBH I think that most GPs have very limited knowledge of vaccines, when I phoned around they didn't even know which vaccine they were using

[lucybrad]

yes, if you had te swine flu vaccination last year, you will only be protected fro swine flu, not the other flus. The swine flu strain around thos year is the same strain as last years, but the others have changed.

[witches]

I am currently battling what im praying is normal flu and not swine flu , doctor wasn't sure but as im early in pregnancy didn't want to take tamiflu. My surgery told me that the vaccine this year is combined seasonal flu and swine flu so if you get the fu jab this should cover u for all strains which i wish i had got! I will be getting it as soon as feel better.

[lucy101]

Some useful info. here:

www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/swineflumulti1.shtml

Lower down it says they are not offering it if you had it last year. I hope the immunity is still good...

"H1N1 2009 is now part of the seasonal flu vaccination and is being offered for the first time routinely to pregnant women (those who didn't have the swine flu vaccination last year) "

[bessie26]

hmmm... the nurse at the flu clinic suggested I have both the swine flu & the seasonal flu jabs, as the seasonal flu jab contained a slightly different version of the Swine flu vac to what was in the original Swine flu vac (the one the WHO think we will see this year, rather than the one that was around last year) - was she talking rubbish?

[MedicalEd]

Bessie26,
Yes she was. The swine flu that is around this year is the same as the pandemic virus last year. It is not a variant or another strain of swine flu.
The pandemic is officially over and swine flu H1N1 has become a normal seasonal flu strain that is cirulating this year along with two others.
The ordinary seasonal flu jab will offer protection against these three strains.
There is no need to be offered or to have last year's single pandemic flu vaccine.
If this is happening it might be because the GP still has some pandemic vaccine he is tryig to get rid of or it might just be that they don't know what they are doing.

[bessie26]

Thanks for info medical. My appointment is tomorrow, so I'll go along and quiz them about it!