Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

The vaccine is different from the jab being offered this year, but as swine flu is the dominant strain in circulation it could offer some protection.

Mr Cameron said: "There is a national stock of flu vaccine from the pandemic of 2009 and while that vaccine is slightly different... it does have some of the common characteristics.

Pandemrix released from national stockpile to combat local flu vaccine shortages
Thu, 06/01/2011 - 16:44
by News team

Sally Davies: H1N1 vaccine to be made available to GPs
Pandemrix (H1N1) influenza vaccine from the national stockpile is to be made available to GPs who need it to meet vaccination demands, interim chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies has announced.

At a media briefing today (6 January 2010), Dame Sally said that although she could not confirm that there is a shortage of the trivalent seasonal flu vaccine she believes that there may be a mismatch between the spread of the vaccine across GP practices and areas of demand.

David Salisbury, director of immunisation at the Department of Health, said that there are currently 12.7 million doses of the Pandemrix vaccine available in the stockpile.

Whereas the trivalent seasonal flu vaccine protects against three flu strains — H1N1 and influenzas A and B — Pandemrix protects against the H1N1 influenza strain only. However, the Health Protection Agency has confirmed that most deaths (45 out of 50) in the UK up until the 5 January 2011 have been caused by the H1N1 strain.

Vaccination should remain restricted to at-risk groups
Professor Salisbury added that, following a decision made at a meeting between the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation at the end of December 2010, vaccination should remain restricted to those in at-risk groups, which now includes pregnant women. He said the JCVI concluded that a high number of illnesses in children are other respiratory conditions replicating the symptoms of flu.

Chief executive of the NHS David Nicholson added that among front-line healthcare workers uptake of this year’s seasonal flu vaccination was 20 per cent.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society told PJ Online that it is in continuing discussions with the DoH and chief pharmaceutical officer for England to help ensure that pharmacists have all the information and medicines they need to help patients.

“We know pharmacists will work in concert locally with all health professionals, as they usually do, to ensure patients get the supplies of medicines, advice and treatment they need. Through this collaboration pharmacists will do everything within their power to ensure those in ‘at risk’ groups are vaccinated,” said RPS chief executive Helen Gordon.

GPs turn to old swine flu vaccine as seasonal flu death toll hits 50Last winter's swine flu vaccine stock used in attempt to beat shortages but ministers are slow to act, says Labour

Denis Campbell, health correspondent guardian.co.uk, Thursday 6 January 2011 21.39 GMT Article history

GPs have begun giving patients doses of last year's swine flu vaccine to try to overcome the shortage of seasonal flu vaccines, as the death count from this winter's outbreak rises to 50 people.

The Department of Health approved the move today, and Labour claimed that that was further evidence of ministers being "slow to act at every stage" as the threat posed by flu escalated.

Coming a week after it was forced to reinstate a national advertising campaign on good hygiene, it is the second unexpected step the department has taken to try to lessen the serious harm being caused by swine flu.

The government is releasing 12.7m doses of the Pandemrix swine flu vaccine, left over from the 2009-10period, when an outbreak killed almost 500 people.

"I'm writing to GPs to tell them that they can start using H1N1 vaccine on clinical need," said Dame Sally Davies, the interim chief medical officer for England.

John Healey, the shadow health secretary, said: "This is a sensible step, but once again late in the day from a government that has been slow to act at every stage of this flu crisis. And coming the day after calls for vaccine suppliers to scour Europe for stocks, this will add to public confusion about what treatment is available and where."

Eleven more people have died from flu in the last week, taking the toll from 39 to 50. Of those, 45 deaths were due to swine flu, the main strain of flu circulating this winter; the other five were influenza B.

Of the 48 cases where details were known, 33 people were in an "at-risk" group because they had an underlying medical condition such as diabetes, obesity or a breathing condition, or were pregnant. In 39 cases where vaccination status was known, 36 had not had this winter's seasonal flu jab at least two weeks before they fell ill, and 33 had not had a swine flu jab last year, despite vulnerable health.

Among the dead, five were aged under five, eight were five to 14, 33 were 15 to 64, and four were older than 64.

Ministers have now ordered a review of the way the NHS procures seasonal flu vaccines. This could lead to the health departments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland taking over from individual GP practices the job of ordering and paying for supplies for next winter.
Meirion Evans, of the Faculty of Public Health, said doctors wanted the switch so as to prevent shortages. All childhood vaccines, such as for MMR, tetanus and diptheria, were already obtained this way.

However, any move to adopt the same system for seasonal flu vaccines could lead to a dispute between the health department and the BMA, because it would lessen GPs' income.

The number of people receiving critical care in hospital because of serious complications brought on by flu also rose this week, from 738 to 783, and a record number of people were receiving intensive support with breathing difficulties, called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, .

Davies and the head of the NHS today were cautiously optimistic that the outbreak would peak soon then start to subside. They said that last week fewer people in England and Scotland went to see their doctor with flu-like illnesses; in England the rate dropped from 124 to 98 per 100,000 people. The rate of increase in people ending up in critical care also slowed sharply.

The Countess of Chester hospital, in Chester, has become the latest hospital to ask the public not to visit "in order to reduce the risk of patients and staff becoming ill". People have been advised to visit only come if "absolutely essential".

Other countries get one corrupt thick headed lying tinpot dictator in power, Britain has landed up with three of them.We are forced to contend with all of this as well as David Cameron "promising" no reorganisation of the NHS, now he is totally gutting, it, dismantling and selling the best bits off to private companies and if we lose our NHS, we will never, ever again have it, it will be impossible to take back into public ownership, this is the extent of the lying and utter betrayal of the British people by this TORY led government. Cameron, Osborne and Clegg.

Doctors have been told to inject people with old flu vaccines from the 2009 pandemic – as 11 more patients died from the virus this week.
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The chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies yesterday wrote to all GPs and hospital trusts telling them that if they run out of the seasonal flu vaccine they could use the H1N1 vaccine from last winter.

They have been given immediate access to the 12million stockpile of vaccines – but these do not protect against all the strains circulating.

Some hospitals have been told to cancel operations to make way for the most seriously ill flu patients.

Of the 50 people who have died this year of flu, 45 have suffered from swine flu (H1N1) and another five from Type B flu.

The deaths are mostly among children and young adults, with five cases in the under-fives and eight cases among those aged five to 14.

About 780 patients remain seriously ill in critical care in England. NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson said the situation was putting the health service under severe pressure.

But David Cameron denied the government had been complacent.

‘In some places, yes, there are some shortages,’ said the prime minister.

‘The department of health has been meeting urgently today and we’ll be using the stocks that were established for a previous pandemic and making that available.’

The NHS is preparing to expand the number of beds available for extra corporeal membrane oxygenation treatment, which is often seen as a last resort.

http://www.pjonline.com/news/pandemrix_released_from_national_stockpile_to_combat_local_flu_vaccine_shortages

Eh? That's appalling.