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Vaccination
Swine Flu (H1N1) Vaccination
The Health Ministers from all 4 nations have accepted the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on priority groups for H1N1 vaccination. Vaccination of these groups will commence in the autumn subject to the vaccine being licensed by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency. The target groups are as follows:
( Figures in brackets represent the approximate numbers in England)
- People aged over six months and under 65 years in current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups (about 5 million people).
NB – this includes people with chronic respiratory disease in this age range – click here for more detail on content of green book on respiratory patients in at-risk category for seasonal flu vaccination
- All pregnant women, subject to licensing conditions on trimesters (about 0.5 million people).
- Household contacts of people with compromised immune systems e.g. people in regular close contact with patients on treatment for cancer (about 0.5 million people).
- People aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups (about 3.5 million people).
NB – this includes people with chronic respiratory disease who are 65 and over
This does not include otherwise healthy over 65s, since they appear to have some natural immunity to the virus.
These groups have been identified because they are at highest risk of severe illness should they contract the swine flu virus. They will be prioritised for vaccination in order, once the vaccine has been licensed. Frontline health and social care workers will be offered the vaccine at the same time as the first clinical risk group as they are at increased risk of infection and of transmitting that infection to vulnerable patients.
Click here to see attached letter from CMO for England with the latest information on vaccination in more detail.
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