Live webchat with Professor David Salisbury, Dept of Health director of immunisation, Mon, November 2, 1pm

[GeraldineMumsnet]

We're very pleased to have Professor David Salisbury, the Department of Health's director of immunisation, as our guest for a live webchat this Friday, 30 Oct, at 1pm.

Professor Salisbury, who originally trained as a paediatrician, and also works extensively for the World Health Organisation including his role as chairman of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Vaccines, is a timely guest given that the swine flu vaccination
programme is now being rolled out. Pregnant women are one of the first 'at-risk' groups being offered the jab.

There has already been a large amount of discussion about the vaccine, so this is your chance to put your questions, concerns and comments to the government's top vaccines expert.

As usual, if you can't join us on the day, please post your question here and Prof Salisbury will try to answer as many as possible.

How can you be sure that swine flu is rising if gps will not swab test people and just tell them over the phone ?

still haven't had an answer to the question of why we can't choose which vaccine to have. One of my children reacts to aluminium - so far only locally but increasing in severity. They have anaphylactic reactions to nuts and I don't want to risk an anaphylactic reaction to vaccine. Will I able to choose the vaccine without aluminium?

I understood. Not easy to drink yourself to death with water. Too many vaccines -- quite possible to overload on mercury.

So is there any response about the safety of 5mcg thiomersal on a baby under 3.3 kilos?

thanks for answering that. looks like anyone heavily pregnant now though has lost out on all fronts! too late to be vaccinated as a pregnant person, and too soon for the priorities to be done so that new mothers can be vaccinated to protect their newborns! any idea on the timescales involved? its worrying.

'The best way to protect newborns is for the mother to be vaccinated.'

So, bearing in mind the lack of clinical evidence regarding safety of this particular vaccincation to unborn children, you consider that the risk to the unborn child would be greater if the mother does not have the jab than if she does?

If so, you disagree with my midwife!

My little boy, 17 months recently was hospitalised with pneumonia and ended up with fluid on the lung and had to have surgery to have it drained. He was not tested for swine flu despite having the symptoms prior to being diagnosed with pneumonia. Why are they not swabbing for swine flu anymore as I would feel a lot less anxious if I knew he had already had it?

Is this why you recommend newborns should be protected by maternal vaccination? Because of the mercury levels?

Lumpasmelly says that pregnant women are being told "off the reocrd" not to touch it with a barge pole. I can say that anyone who is giving that advice does not know the facts. The evidence that pregnant women are at risk of complications, admission to intensive care or dying is unfortunately wrong. The other side of that coin is to be vaccinated and for you and your baby to be protected.

Lumpasmelly also asks if there is any truth in the rumour that pushing the vaccine is a cost decision. The argument that she makes is that it is more cost effective for the Government to cut down the number of people requiring hospitalisation from swine flu that it is for the Government to deal with the potential impact of babies being born with damage attributed to the vaccine; this is bonkers. Of course there is an economic consideration. It is far better value to purchase vaccines, to prevent people becoming ill and even dying than letting unnecessary illness and death occur.

In our economic analyses we use the cost of gaining extra years of healthy life as our measurement and we all want healthy and long lives.

Tatt - None of the reasons that you have given cause me anxiety about allergic reactions for your child. There is no aluminum in our flu vaccines anyway.

think you have a typo in your last reply (rong when you probably menat strong). I doubt you meant to say that pregnant women aren't at risk of complications!

'The evidence that pregnant women are at risk of complications, admission to intensive care or dying is unfortunately wrong.'

Please clarify?

X-post - Tatt, think you're right.

Will the vaccine be offered privately?

To Serennos: Yes - the best way to protect newborns is for the mother to be vaccinated.

Yes I do disagree with your midwife - she needs to get the facts. And we have sent out more material on immunisation and pregnancy for health professionals, there is a new leaflet for pregnant mothers going out now and these can be downloaded from the DH website -

Tat well spotted I meant strong not wrong its just a typo.

thanks - but still not an answer to why we can't choose adjuvant free. I'd like to be able to get other vaccines without aluminium.

I sense that many of the problems stem from the problem of keeping HPs updated with the latest information. You only have to look at the number of complaints on MN about Hvs to see this!

Is there any evidence to link pregnant women having flu vaccines and birth defects?

Dr Salisbury,

Please can you tell me when so many of us will get our single measles jabs as there is no place to get this info at all?

Sorry I should clarify will the Swine Flu vaccine be available privately?

Thank you so much for the time you have spent asking so many pertinent questions MN HQ will pass on any other queries and I promise to get back as soon as possible.

I cant believe nobody asked this, but my favourite biscuit is a good milk chocolate digestive and can kill a few chocolate finger biscuits. I do try to avoid them but have been known to fail.

Sorry I meant mumps.....

I understand that the Government has to look at worse case scenarios and consider mass intervention, which must be a tricky call - as Dr Salisbury says - they will be 'looking very carefully' before planning the next steps.

However, for you and I looking very carefully involves different criteria, and that is why there are the differences between health professionals.

If you have underlying illness, like the paraplegic pregnant mum and the 17 year old pregnant mum with un named illness who died of swine flu in the UK, then you do have a risk of complications swine flu or indeed from from seasonal flu.

Natalie Aziz MD is a specialist in high risk OB and reproductive infectious diseases and states "Swine Flu does not present a higher risk than any other flu virus".

Hand washing is of course recommended, but consider natural antivirals like garlic and taking vitamin D3 which Sweden is looking into for Flu prevention.

Thanks so much to all for joining in, and of course to Professor Salisbury for his time.

LOL@ Biscuit, we were all being sensible