

Live webchat with Professor David Salisbury, Dept of Health director of immunisation, Mon, November 2, 1pm

(318 Posts)
GeraldineMumsnet (MNHQ) Tue 27-Oct-09 11:43:35

We're very pleased to have Professor David Salisbury, the Department of Health's director of immunisation, as our guest for a live webchat this Friday, 30 Oct, at 1pm.

Professor Salisbury, who originally trained as a paediatrician, and also works extensively for the World Health Organisation including his role as chairman of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Vaccines, is a timely guest given that the swine flu vaccination
programme is now being rolled out. Pregnant women are one of the first 'at-risk' groups being offered the jab.

There has already been a large amount of discussion about the vaccine, so this is your chance to put your questions, concerns and comments to the government's top vaccines expert.

As usual, if you can't join us on the day, please post your question here and Prof Salisbury will try to answer as many as possible.

ilovesprouts Tue 27-Oct-09 11:54:25

hi my dd is 13 weeks pregnant , will she get offerd the swine flu jab and how safe is it to the unborn child and mother ,as ive heard a lot of bad press about it thanks

Ohhhh... that's going to be a lively chat

what do you think his fave biscuit is?

CMOTdibbler Tue 27-Oct-09 12:22:13

I won't be here, so can I ask:

What are your thoughts on vaccinating boys against HPV ? I know anal and HPV related head and neck cancers are rare, but their outcomes are very poor.

merryberry Tue 27-Oct-09 12:28:06

I take 2 types of immunosupressant drugs for severe rheumatoid arthritis. As well as the swine flu vaccine, I'm advised to also have the seasonal flu and pneumococcal vaccines.

Where can I find any of published data on these vaccines' safety and efficacy for myself and my healthy 'household contact' aka dear husband?

Same question also for safety/efficacy in children. When I look I only find policy interpretations of data. I'd like to read the original science myself.

Many thanks.

mylovelymonster Tue 27-Oct-09 12:29:22

I'd like to know more details about the flu vaccine (swine or seasonal) formulations - have all the traces of mercury (thimerosal?) been removed from vaccines across the board? I wouldn't be worried about attenuated/killed virus component - just other chemicals/preservatives/adjuvants in the formulation & potential toxicities. Any details?

saggarmakersbottomknocker Tue 27-Oct-09 12:37:55

I am a parent of a young person with an underlying health condition. I am concerned about her contracting Swine flu but also have concerns wrt to SF vax. <rock and a hard place frankly>

Is it correct that the vaccines offered in the UK will contain adjuvants which have been rejected by US regulators? As I understand it there is little data as to how adjuvants affect children and young people, particularly those with underlying conditions.

Your comments please?

Frrrightattendant Tue 27-Oct-09 13:03:15

Well done MNHQ, what a catch! smile

Thanks for coming on and answering questions Dr Salisbury. (I've nothing to add that hasn't already been asked.)

AppleMark Tue 27-Oct-09 13:35:42

Dr Salsbury you said on the BBC that a baby could theoretically withstand 1000 vaccines at once.shock
this information is also in the booklet given to new parents, do you stand by this statement.
Would you be willing to prove this theory with the swine flu vaccine perhaps 50 doses in each arm?

Beachcomber Tue 27-Oct-09 13:40:51

Dr Salisbury, why does the government continue to refuse to offer single MMR vaccines despite public demand for them and the well documented (if unconvincingly denied by the government) safety issues with the triple vaccine?

Hellenbach Tue 27-Oct-09 14:06:31

Dr Salisbury. As far as I am aware there have been no trial results yet for the use of swine flu vaccine on pregnant women. Is this correct? If so how can we be reassured that the vaccine is safe?

lomorising Tue 27-Oct-09 14:12:43

am 35 weeks pregnant and live in Scotland so will no doubt be offered the H1N1 vacc very soon. The government website tells us in one sentence that most pregnant women will only get mild, normal seasonal flu symptoms and the next sentence tells us of the horrific complications we are likely to face if we contract the virus. If it is so important and advised that I should take the H1N1 vaccine, which apparently is not that different from the seasonal flu, why have I never been offered a normal seasonal flu jab and yet am being pressured to take the swine flu jab? Which is it - just another seasonal flu or is this virus in fact much more serious? Also, can you answer conclusively that the vaccine will not affect my unborn child 1,2,3... years down the line? If it did would parents receive compensation or would there be a long running battle as with Thalidimide cases from the 50's/60's? And finally if the majority of pregnant women are concerned about the safety of the swine flu vacc on our unborn children, why can't our own immunity to the virus be tested first before receiving the vaccination (as with the teenage BCG skin test and jab)? I hope I have given you the majority of questions pregnant mums really wish answered.

mrsTC Tue 27-Oct-09 14:14:20

Professor Salisbury

I am currently pregnant in my third trimester and, like many pregnant women, am unsure whether to have the swine flu vaccine as it has not been tested on pregnant women.

I understand that the vaccine being offered in the UK, Pandremix, contains an adjuvant which has not been tested on pregnant women. Is it possible to offer pregnant women Celvapan instead which is an unadjuvanted vaccine? I understand other countries are offering this.

In my own mind, I am finding it difficult to justify taking a vaccine when I do not know it is safe and am otherwise healthy with no underlying conditions.

I would be grateful to hear your views.

Many thanks

I have a DD who is 22 weeks old and exclusively breast fed. I am reluctant to give her the Swine 'flu vaccine, but would like to know if she would gain a degree of protection throught breastmilk if I were to recieve the vaccination instead?

Very cool

Is the current h1n1 immunisation campaign in England going to be large enough to benefit the population as a whole ie. will it be enough to slow the spread of h1n1 substantially so that health services are not overwhelmed?

LoveBeingAMummy Tue 27-Oct-09 14:27:27


My DD (18mths) was was said to have swine flu following the online assessement, due to other symptoms we were also advised to call NHS Direct who told me NOT to get the swine flu meds as it was unlikely to be that. I presume that on her records with her doc it will link and say she had the meds even though they were never collected. Does this mean that she will not be able to get the vaccine and does she actually need it?


Takora Tue 27-Oct-09 14:35:25

I have heard from an NHS nurse that there are two vaccines - a European and an American version - and that the American vaccine has been tested far more extensively on pregnant women compared to the European version, which has been more rushed. Can you confirm this at all? If this is the case, how accessible is this American vaccine to pregnant women in the UK?

As a (albeit mild) asthma sufferer in my third trimester, I am very concerned about contracting swine flu and having to take tamiflu (which many countries seem very against using and which comes with its own list of side effects) as I would not be recommended to take Relenza, so I am reluctantly leaning towards taking a vaccine, but I am still quite scared and want to know which is my best possible option.

Thank you very much in advance.

echops Tue 27-Oct-09 14:50:23

In 2003 following flu I suffered from an auto immune reaction which resulted in me having muscle / joint pain for over 2 years. I'm now 21 weeks pregnant and am concerned that the jab could trigger a similar auto immune reaction. Is this possible/likely?

stuffitllllama Tue 27-Oct-09 15:32:37

If the government is so concerned about childhood disease outbreaks, why does it still fail parents who want to give their children separate vaccines -- despite continuing worries about MMR?

How do you sleep at night?

Grendle Tue 27-Oct-09 15:40:38

I am very heavily pregnant, yet may be offered the vaccine before my baby arrives. I am interested in the potential ramifications of me having the vaccine, but then having an unprotected newborn just as the risk of catching it is probably about to increase with wave 2.

My understanding is that pregnant women are being encouraged to have it for their own protection, as the complications can be especially serious in late pregnancy. This is all well and good for me, assuming that I am actually vaccinated and my body has time to mount the necessary response to the vaccine whilst I am still pregnant in order to confer immunity.

BUT, what about my baby? I do understand that by being protected myself I may reduce the risk of the baby catching it in the first place (although it will also be living with one adult and 2 other children who are unvaccinated and may well catch it and pass it on). As I'm so far on now, the period of risk to me is rapidly decreasing, so I'm wondering would my baby get better protection (should it catch swine flu) if I haven't had the vaccine? As I will be breastfeeding exclusively, if my baby catches it then my body should mount some sort of response, particularly if I catch it simultaneously? Would this response be lesser if I have already been vaccinated and thus by being vaccinated I may actually weaken the protential protection for my baby?

Basically I want to know what to know what evidence there is about the likely immune responses in a breastfeeding mother (vaccinated or unvaccinated) with an unprotected baby should the baby catch SF.

Thank you smile.

knitcorner Tue 27-Oct-09 15:51:20

Since the swine-flu panic in July when doctors were told not give tamiflu to pregnant women, what has changed to make swine-flu a more significant danger to them? (so much so that you are prepared to mass-vaccinate an untested drug to that group).

Then all the questions Lomorising raised please.

Plus, if I don't have the vaccine (as I'm 6 months pregnant), can my husband take it so he can care for me should the worse happen?


LeninGhoul Tue 27-Oct-09 16:07:32

Is it true that 25% of the SF cases in critical care are children? If so, this is significantly disproportionate. Will all children be next on the list to be vaccinated?

I'd rather my kids were vaccinated than me (I'll probably be called due to asthma) as I can judge if I'm worsening or developing a complication better for myself than I can for them.

Beachcomber Tue 27-Oct-09 16:14:38

(Not a question as such but just to echo Stuffitllama's sentiments about how the good doctor sleeps at night).

beachedwhalenow Tue 27-Oct-09 16:25:56

The Adjuvant – squalene is worrying pregnant mums and is putting us off having the vaccine.

Other countries which have adjuvant free vaccines are keeping them for pregnant women. The adjuvant free vaccine is considered to be the preferred choice by the W.H.O. then if that’s not available the adjuvant version thus 2nd best!, This does not give us confidence and only adds to our anxiety over having a vaccine whilst pregnant.

*When will we be offered the choice between the two vaccines Celvapan and Pandermix?*

waitingwaiting Tue 27-Oct-09 16:33:03

It appears that Celvapan may offer pregnant women immediate protection from swine flu afterall, as Baxter has submitted a variation to its Celvapan H1N1 vaccine EMEA licence seeking approval for a single dose use of this vaccine.

In which case, surely Celvapan MUST now be the preferred Choice of Vaccine for Pregnant women?

PLEASE CAN YOU GIVE US THE CHOICE???.. PRETTY PLEASE! I will feel so much happier having the Celvapan vaccine.

If this is not possible please be so kind as to explain why.......

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