Cost cutting flu vaccine will be administered to pregnant women

Pregnant women will be one of the first in line to be administered the swine flu vaccine.

Subject to being licensed, the  vaccination programme is expected to begin this autumn and will target nine million people in ‘at-risk’ categories.

It is anticipated by the Department of Health that the vaccine will reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment and is about saving the NHS money in the long run.

GP surgeries will receive £5.25 for every dose of the vaccine given with budgets to help surgeries contact patients, give the vaccine and pay any extra staff.

Currently, it is expected that patients will need two doses of the vaccine, but as it is still subject to clinical trials, final details are still not known.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham thinks this is all ‘great news for patients’. He said: “The vaccine is the best line of defence against this virus and I would strongly urge all of those in the at-risk groups, as well as front-line health and social care workers to have the vaccine. All at-risk groups will be able to receive the vaccine in the familiar surroundings of their own surgery and we can begin offering it to people as soon as it has been licensed by the European regulators.

“I am glad that we have reached a fair deal with the GPC  and I am pleased that GPs will continue to play a key role in the fight against swine flu. They have already worked incredibly hard in what have been very difficult circumstances to help their patients. This deal represents good value for money as the vaccine programme will reduce the number of people who will need hospital treatment.”

The groups to be given priority will be: people aged over six months and under 65 years in the current seasonal flu vaccine at risk; Pregnant women in certain trimesters; people in regular contact with cancer patient; people aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu at-risk group.

It is expected that the European Medicines Agency will licence the vaccine in October.

The swine flu vaccination programme will mean that the collection date for data on childhood immunisation will be delayed by six weeks.