Bid to step up swine flu jabs for mums-to-be

MATERNITY hospitals are to work with the HSE to accelerate the vaccination of expectant mothers against swine flu.

The move follows the death of the first pregnant woman and her unborn child from the virus. It is understood the woman from the east of the country was in the first half of her pregnancy and did not have an underlying illness.

Three maternity hospitals in Dublin have already agreed to offer the vaccine to pregnant women attending antenatal clinics.

It is likely that other maternity hospitals around the country will take similar steps to ensure women, who are more than 14 weeks’ pregnant, are vaccinated.

According to the Dublin maternity hospitals, around three-quarters of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics have already been vaccinated by their GPs.

A HSE spokesman said there had been a marked increase yesterday in the number of pregnant women calling the health authority to make appointments.

The Institute of Obstetricians warned that pregnant women who contracted the virus were four times more likely to develop serious complications from the virus, including pneumonia.

Master of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Dr Sam Coulter-Smith, said there was no evidence to suggest that the vaccine was unsafe for pregnant women.

“In this situation, where the swine flu condition can be quite severe, the message we are trying to get across is that the vaccination is the right thing to do,” he said.

The Department of Health’s chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said both vaccines that were available were equally safe for pregnant women.

According to the HSE, there are 45 pregnant women in hospital being treated for the virus and such cases account for up to 8% of admissions with swine flu.

Like a lot of pregnant women, it was with reluctance that Caroline Lynch got vaccinated in a private clinic in Dublin yesterday

Ms Lynch, 42, from Blackrock, Co Dublin, is 31 weeks’ pregnant with her first child.

Ms Lynch, whose baby is due in January, only finally made up her mind to get the vaccine after it emerged on Thursday night that a pregnant woman had died.

“Her death completely made up my mind for me. Obviously, I was aware of the risks but when you hear of somebody who has died, then it becomes very real,” said Ms Lynch.