Swine flu jabs for babies

[MushkaMamma]

At my GP's surgery yesterday there were big bold red signs insiting that parents of 6month olds to 5 year olds bring their child in for a Swine Flu immunisation.

My GP said that as a mother she would not hesitate as the largest at risk groups that have been hospitalised are babies, pregnant women and people with underlying health issues.She said that SF has not gone away and it would be a wise precaution to take.

I feel reluctant and am wondering what other parents have considered and decided.

Regards,

MM

[Sanne Panne]

I haven't decided whether or not to give it to my 17 month old yet. Am slightly reluctant but not against it in principle. Is Forest Hill road practice offering it yet?

[Bumpkin]

Dr Gupta's on Crystal Palace Road are not offering it to all babies / children. Only those with underlying health problems. Didn't push for the reason on this, but interesting how different surgeries in exactly the same area take different stances.

[njc97]

Hmm, was in Drs yesterday for MMR. Nurse said they hadn't decided yet whether or not to immunise babies for SF.

[helena handbasket]

That's not right. It was decided in November by the government that under five's would be next in line because they were becoming the highest risk group. We waited and waited, and finally in mid- December it became an issue when the doctors were refusing to give them due to the extra demands on the surgeries. Many were refusing until compensation agreements were in place. It had nothing to do with health and safety. We received a letter the other day inviting my son for his and will be having him done...... I don't know why this has become such a problem in the UK. Other countries have done it and moved on months ago. The reason people are getting so paranoid here is that there is so much chatter and misinformation, and so many people are paying attention to dodgy websites, that the science is getting mixed up in the banter. This is exactly why the measles came back to London. And why the NHS and get away with putting it off this long.

[DVdad]

We had our swine flu vaccinations in December (19 months to 55 years). One of our daughters is susceptible to infections and my wife works for the NHS. No particular side effects (slight headaches for my wife, slight snuffles for the six-year old) - nobody even cried. Slightly annoying is the three-week gap between subsequent vaccinations for the under-10s, but that's all. And we had the version with thiomersal, which some people have let themselves get worried about - there is no respectable, peer-reviewed evidence against it.

[nunheadmum]

Got my eldest (3) done just after Christmas and was told that they've decided to give only 1 jab now for the kids - not 2 doses as they were doing. She was fine with it - just put out that she couldn't go to nursery and show off her plaster!

[MushkaMamma]

My friend is a GP in north London, his surgery are not pushing it wheras mune seems to be. It is frustrating to have such unclear information, as a parent you feel damned if you do and damned if you don't!

[tulip]

helena handbasket Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We waited and waited, and finally in mid-

> December it became an issue when the doctors were

> refusing to give them due to the extra demands on

> the surgeries. Many were refusing until

> compensation agreements were in place.... why the NHS and get away

> with putting it off this long.

Has it crossed your mind that GP surgeries may be struggling to cope with the demand of people with flu and the additional vaccination program? That this is a huge workload ontop of an already high level of demand? Or that they need that compensation to pay for the extra staff to run all the additinal clinics to vaccinate? Or the amount of time, effort and cost required to contact literally hundreds and hundreds of eligible patients? It'a bit of a tall order for what are essentially small businesses. All not helped by the demands of the worried well turning up at the slightest sign of a sniffle. I don't think doctors want to withhold vital vaccines to patients- especially with the effort they usually have to spend around here trying to convince people the vaccines are safe (see MMR debacle). The NHS may have it's failings, but it has more to offer than most countries healthcare.

[helena handbasket]

No it hasn't, because other countries have the same issues and somehow cope. I'm sick of hearing about how the NHS has more to offer than other countries, based on the constant comparisons to ONE country that we all know has issues with healthcare. But there are plenty of countries with socialized medicine who are coping quite well, so don't you dare accuse those of us who are interested in preventative medicine and TRUST science as being the "worried well". I do not abuse the system at all; if anything I'm very under-served. And the very few times I ask for something of a system which is supposedly so wonderful I get treated as if I'm asking too much. Am I to understand that expecting anything at all of this system is too much? Canada has managed just fine and you know what? There is NO private option at all! The entire country relies on the same public system. All medicine there is public....... and yet they have somehow figured it out.

AND they do a seasonal flu vaccination every year. How oh how do they manage?

[Smiler]

GPs are well paid and the fact that they do run practices should mean that they (or their practice managers) are well able to organise vaccinations etc.

tulip Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Has it crossed your mind that GP surgeries may be

> struggling to cope with the demand of people with

> flu and the additional vaccination program? That

> this is a huge workload ontop of an already high

> level of demand? Or that they need that

> compensation to pay for the extra staff to run all

> the additinal clinics to vaccinate? Or the amount

> of time, effort and cost required to contact

> literally hundreds and hundreds of eligible

> patients? It'a bit of a tall order for what are

> essentially small businesses. All not helped by

> the demands of the worried well turning up at the

> slightest sign of a sniffle. I don't think doctors

> want to withhold vital vaccines to patients-

> especially with the effort they usually have to

> spend around here trying to convince people the

> vaccines are safe (see MMR debacle). The NHS may

> have it's failings, but it has more to offer than

> most countries healthcare.

[Smiler]

Information, including on how GPs are remunerated for doing the vaccinations, is on the NHS London website:

http://www.london.nhs.uk/news-and-health-issues/press-releases/2009-press-releases/swine-flu-vaccination-for-children-under-five-to-begin

"To provide the swine flu vaccine to children aged between six months and five years old, GPs will be paid ?5.25 per vaccination as agreed nationally. In addition, each practice will be given a one-off payment of up to ?100, depending on the uptake achieved in vaccinating children in their local area. This will be paid through the existing GP contract which allows Primary Care Trusts to make temporary support payments when requesting significant increases in workload. The agreement between NHS London and GPs represented by the Londonwide Local Medical Committees was reached on 9 December 2009."