The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) supports the Chief Medical Officer’s announcement on 21 October 2009, which states that all frontline healthcare professionals should be prioritised to receive the H1N1v flu vaccine to help protect themselves and the national health infrastructure.
The RCOG strongly encourages midwives, obstetricians and neonatal staff to take up the offer of the vaccine in order to protect themselves and their patients – pregnant women, mothers and their babies – against the spread of the virus. By having the vaccine, maternity staff will also prevent transmission of the H1N1v flu on to their own families, should they come into contact with an infected patient.
The RCOG also supports the Chief Medical Officer’s view that pregnant women should be offered the vaccine. The regulatory bodies, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI) have examined the evidence and have determined that the vaccines can be given in pregnancy with a high level of safety. Whilst most pregnant mothers with swine flu make a good recovery, they are at increased risk of developing severe complications. This vaccine will significantly reduce the risk of a pregnant woman catching swine flu. By having the vaccine, the antibodies which the mother develops during pregnancy will also provide protection for her baby in the newborn period.
The RCOG has also looked at the evidence on the safety of flu vaccines in pregnancy and this has been compiled in an Evidence File.