Swine flu vaccine safe in pregnancy: study (Reuters)

Written by admin on June 25, 2011 – 6:46 am

NEW YORK – The swine flu shot appears to be safe for pregnant women, according to a new government report that tallies health problems occurring after the vaccinations

During the 2009 and 2010 flu seasons, millions of pregnant women received the vaccine against swine flu, or H1N1 influenza, yet but less than 300 possible complications were reported to a national database

Researchers estimated that out of one million pregnant women who received the vaccine, 118 experienced a potential side effect from the shot

These findings support the official recommendation that pregnant women receive the seasonal flu vaccine, which will contain the H1N1 vaccine in the upcoming flu season, said study author Dr Pedro Moro of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“Based on all the information we have available, we definitely think pregnant women should receive the flu shot in the 2011-12 season,” Moro told “The flu shot will protect pregnant women, their unborn babies, and protect the baby after birth”

Compared with women of the same age who arent pregnant, expecting mothers are more likely to become seriously ill from a flu infection and need hospitalization

According to the CDC, pregnant women accounted for one in 20 deaths from H1N1 influenza in 2009 By comparison, only one in 100 was pregnant in the population

The latest findings stem from data submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System VAERS, a vaccine-safety surveillance system run by the federal government It allows anyone — including doctors, vaccine makers and patients — to report health problems that arise after a vaccination

The system helps health officials spot new, unusual side effects, although with the caveat that the reported problems are not necessarily caused by vaccination

Last year, a survey of reports to the VAERS found no unusual complications among pregnant women whove received the vaccine in the past 20 years

In the latest report, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers at the CDC and Food and Drug Administration reviewed health problems reported following the swine flu vaccine Again, they found nothing unusual

“We found no patterns suggesting a safety concern for the mother or the baby,” Moro said in an email

For every one million women vaccinated during pregnancy, there were 49 reports of miscarriage, and eight reports of stillbirths

Both of these serious events occur relatively commonly in pregnancy, according to the researchers Nearly a quarter of pregnant women 34 and older experience miscarriage, while fewer than one in 200 pregnancies result in stillbirth

“It is important to remember that some health events will happen by chance shortly after vaccination,” said Moro “For example, by chance alone you expect to find reports of miscarriages in pregnant women”

Pregnant women were no more likely to experience less serious complications, such as allergic reactions, following the vaccine than non-pregnant adults either

Dr Michael Schatz, who studies vaccine safety during pregnancy but was not involved in the new work, called the findings “reassuring”

“No reasons exist from this report not to continue to follow the CDC recommendations and, pending more information, consider that the benefits of influenza immunizations in pregnant women outweigh the risks,” Schatz, of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, told by email

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