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Found 452 results
  1. News Article
    Doctors and nurses on the front line of the fight against coronavirus at the Royal London Hospital – which has the largest number of Covid patients in the capital – have been denied the Pfizer vaccine, The Independent has learnt. Hospital bosses at Barts Health Trust have written to staff today expressing their frustration over the decisions by NHS England, which meant the northeast of London – where the rate of infections and hospitalisations are worst – has not been given access to any vaccines. The Independent has learned that staff from the Royal London booked appointments to be vaccinated at University College London, but they were turned away because the vaccinations had been earmarked for NHS staff from University College London Hospital Trust. The trust’s chief medical officer wrote to senior doctors on Monday warning them the crisis facing the hospital would get worse before it gets better. Professor Alistair Chesser told staff: “It has been frustrating to see the vaccine delivered to other trusts and to GP surgeries but not to us in the last few days given the pressure we are under. Please be assured we are lobbying for our staff and our patients at the very highest levels and will not let this rest.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 22 December 2020
  2. News Article
    Throughout the pandemic, people with learning disabilities and autism have consistently been let down. A lack of clear, easy-to-understand guidance, unequal access to care and illegal “do not resuscitate” instructions have exacerbated the inequalities many people have long faced. It is crucial we do not forget those who have constantly been at the back of the queue: people with learning disabilities and autism. The impact cannot be ignored: research shows that 76% of people with learning disabilities feel they do not matter to the government, compared with the general public, during the pandemic. And data shows the danger of contracting COVID-19 for people with learning disabilities and autism is much higher than for the wider population. Public Health England has said the registered COVID-19 death rate for people with learning disabilities in England is more than four times times higher than the general population. But experts estimate the true rate is likely to be even higher, since not all deaths of people with learning disabilities are registered in the databases used to collate the findings. The reasons the pandemic has impacted people with learning disabilities so disproportionately are systemic, and a result of inequalities in healthcare services experienced for generations. Yes, some individuals are more clinically vulnerable, on account of the co-morbidities and complications associated with their learning disability. For many people, however, poorer outcomes after contracting the virus are due to non-clinical issues and inequalities in accessing healthcare services. This is inexcusable. The government must prioritise vaccinations for the 1.5 million people with learning disabilities and 700,000 with autism. Putting this long-overlooked group at the top of the vaccine queue would help address the systemic health inequalities learning disabled people face. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 December 2020
  3. News Article
    Coronavirus vaccinations at GP practices will now take ‘twice as long’ after regulators announced new rules just days before the jabs are rolled out across primary care. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency announced patients would have to be observed for 15 minutes after they received the vaccine. This came after two people had severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Primary care directors told HSJ the change means they have had to overhaul plans in their primary care networks and, in some areas, the vaccine programme will be “unfeasibly challenging” to deliver. Sources told HSJ workforce plans are being overhauled, while vaccines risk being wasted because of the additional time constraints. There have been claims some practices may drop the vaccination programme altogether, as they lack capacity to carry out 15-minute observations for each patient. One primary care director, who spoke to HSJ anonymously, said: “For us, we now need additional space for an observation area. It also makes it more difficult to efficiently flow through the vaccines as the actual vaccination process might take a few minutes, but the through flow of patients will be limited by the 15-minute wait.” They added: “The vaccine now taking at least twice as long to do creates logistical problems. Not insurmountable but there nonetheless." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 11 December 2020
  4. News Article
    The UK’s drug regulator has warned that people with have a history of “significant” allergic reactions should not receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued the warning after two NHS staff members who were administered with doses on Tuesday both suffered an allergic reaction. NHS England said all trusts involved with the vaccination programme have been informed. Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said the regulatory body was examining the cases. “We know from the very extensive clinical trials this wasn’t a feature," she told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday. "But if we need to strengthen our advice now that we’ve had this experience in the vulnerable populations - the groups that have been selected as a priority - we get that advice to the field immediately.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 December 2020
  5. News Article
    A 90-year-old woman has become the first patient in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine after its approval in the UK, where the NHS has launched its biggest vaccine campaign. Margaret Keenan received the jab at about 6.45am in Coventry, marking the start of a historic mass vaccination programme. The vaccines will be administered at 50 hospital hubs around the country, with patients aged 80 and over who are either already attending hospital as an outpatient or are being discharged home after a hospital stay, being first in line. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 November 2020
  6. News Article
    The coronavirus vaccine is the "beginning of the end" of the epidemic in the UK, Prof Stephen Powis has said, as vaccinations begin on Tuesday. But the NHS England medical director warned the distribution of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine would be a "marathon not a sprint". It will take "many months" to vaccinate everybody who needs it, he said. Frontline health staff, those over 80, and care home workers will be first to get the COVID-19 vaccine. In England, 50 hospitals have been initially chosen to serve as hubs for administering the vaccine. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will also begin their vaccination programmes from hospitals on Tuesday. Prof Powis was speaking outside Croydon University Hospital in south London, which became one of the first hospitals in the UK to take delivery of the vaccine on Sunday. Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 December 2020
  7. News Article
    NHS staff will no longer get the coronavirus vaccine first after a drastic rethink about who should be given priority, it emerged last night. The new immunisation strategy is likely to disappoint and worry thousands of frontline staff – and comes amid urgent warnings from NHS chiefs that hospitals could be “overwhelmed” in January by a third wave of COVID-19 caused by mingling over Christmas. Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “If we get a prolonged cold snap in January the NHS risks being overwhelmed. The Covid-19 restrictions should remain appropriately tough. “Trust leaders are worried about the impact of looser regulations over Christmas.” Frontline personnel were due to have the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine when the NHS starts its rollout, which is expected to be next Tuesday after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved it on Wednesday. However, hospitals will instead begin by immunising care home staff, and hospital inpatients and outpatients aged over 80. The new UK-wide guidance on priority groups was issued by the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) amid uncertainty over when the rest of the 5m-strong initial batch of doses that ministers ordered will reach the UK. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 December 2020
  8. News Article
    Care homes will not receive the first batches of the Covid vaccine in Scotland because of problems transporting small doses around the country. The health secretary has said about 65,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Scotland by next Tuesday. They will initially be stored in freezers in packs of 997 doses. The first people to receive the jab may have to travel to where the doses are being held. Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said that means care homes would have to wait until the issue of breaking down the vaccines packs into smaller doses is resolved. She told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The doses come to us in packs of 997 and we need to know to what degree we can pack that down into smaller pack sizes. If we can't, then we absolutely need to bring those who need to be vaccinated to those freezers - to the centres - because there is a limit to how much you can transport the doses once you have defrosted them." "We don't want to waste any of this vaccine so it's not possible at this point to take it in smaller doses into, for example, care homes." Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 December 2020
  9. News Article
    The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use. British regulator, the MHRA, says the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against COVID-19 illness, is safe for rollout next week. Immunisations could start within days for those who need it the most, such as elderly, vulnerable patients. The UK has already ordered 40m doses - enough to vaccinate 20m people. Around 10m doses should be available soon, with the first 800,000 arriving in the UK in the coming days. It is the fastest ever vaccine to go from concept to reality, taking only 10 months to follow the same developmental steps that normally span a decade. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted "It's the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again." Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast that people will be contacted by the NHS when it is their turn for the jab. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 December 2020
  10. News Article
    NHS trust chief executives have told HSJ they need more clarity the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine is safe to reassure their worried staff. Trusts were told last week they need to be ready to start vaccinating their staff from early next month. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that they would initially be asked to use the covid vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, assuming it is granted a licence by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Speaking at the HSJ Provider Virtual Summit, St George’s University Hospitals Foundation Trust chief executive Jacqueline Totterdell said there was a lot of “anxiety” around the vaccine among her staff. Leeds Community Healthcare Trust chief Thea Stein added leaders in her city feel “anxious and uncertain”. Ms Totterdell said: “As a responsible officer for 9,000 staff, I also need to be clear that the vaccination is safe. That bit of narrative just needs to come out from the centre, about the reasons why they think it is safe. “I think there is a lot of anxiety, and some of the polls we’ve done around south west London show that as little as 50 per cent of people are willing just to have it without any of that [assurance]." Northumbria Healthcare FT chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, who also spoke at the summit, admitted he was “a bit surprised” by some staff who said they were not going to get the vaccine. The former NHS Improvement chief added: “I think when it actually comes to it, and we get the messaging right about it, not just the responsibility for you but also your responsibility for the people you work with… then the vast majority of people will get it and take confidence in the fact that it’s been developed really quickly and effectively. “These things don’t get signed off if they’re dangerous, so we need to embrace it as the thing that’s going to get us back to normal.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 26 November 2020
  11. News Article
    Hospital trusts have been put on notice that the challenging storage requirements of the first covid vaccines are likely to mean the vaccination of their staff will have to form the vanguard of the planned roll-out next month due. HSJ reported last week that healthcare staff would share priority with “care home residents and staff” in the vaccine roll-out. However, a letter sent to trust chief executives by NHS England seeks to clarify the situation by stressing that “different vaccines are likely to be better suited to different settings because the vaccines are likely to have different storage, reconstitution and administration requirements”. “Given what we currently know about the first expected vaccine, the imperative is that NHS trusts are ready to start vaccinating from the beginning of December.” Trusts are one of several components of the vaccination programme that includes primary care-run sites, mass vaccination centres, and “roving” visits to those who need them. Local systems and regional teams will decide “the most appropriate combination of models required to deliver the vaccine to their local populations based on local needs” the letter says. However, during the early stages of the roll-out this is likely to be dictated by the vaccine types that become available. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 November 2020
  12. News Article
    News that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will review the data from trials of one of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates, to see whether it meets the agency’s robust standards of quality, safety and effectiveness, has been welcomed by the UK Government. Initial data had shown the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 94% effective in protecting people over 65 years of age from coronavirus, with no serious safety concerns having been raised during the clinical trials. Already the UK Government has pre-ordered 40 million vaccine doses – enough to provide vaccinations for up to a third of the population – and is expected to receive the total amount by the end of 2021. The majority of doses are anticipated to be received in the first half of next year. As well as successfully protecting those over the age of 65, trial data also showed that the vaccine candidate also performed equally well in people of all ages, races and ethnicities. Approval from the MHRA, as the UK’s independent regulator, is required for the COVID-19 vaccine to be authorised for consistent manufacture and supply. To achieve this approval, it must demonstrate that it meets strict quality, safety and effectiveness standards set by the MHRA. Business Secretary Alok Sharma added: “Today, we have renewed hope that we are on the brink of one of the most significant scientific discoveries of our time, as we reach the crucial last stage to finding a COVID-19 vaccine. “While this news is a cause for celebration, we must make sure that this vaccine, like all new medicines, meets standards of quality, safety, and effectiveness." Read full story Source: National Health Executive, 24 November 2020
  13. News Article
    The coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford is highly effective at stopping people developing COVID-19 symptoms, a large trial shows. Interim data suggests 70% protection, but the researchers say the figure may be as high as 90% by tweaking the dose. The results will be seen as a triumph, but come after Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed 95% protection. However, the Oxford jab is far cheaper, and is easier to store and get to every corner of the world than the other two. So the vaccine will play a significant role in tackling the pandemic, if it is approved for use by regulators. "The announcement today takes us another step closer to the time when we can use vaccines to bring an end to the devastation caused by [the virus]," said the vaccine's architect, Prof Sarah Gilbert. Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 November 2020
  14. News Article
    The NHS’ current plan for the covid vaccine rollout — dependent on the arrival of supplies — would see the whole adult population able to begin receiving it before the end of January, according to leaked documents seen by HSJ. Under the plan, everyone who wants to would have been vaccinated by early April. NHS England’s draft COVID-19 vaccine deployment programme, seen by HSJ, reveals when each cohort is likely to begin receiving it, based on its plans to create huge capacity across GP-run facilities, “large scale mass vaccination sites”, NHS trusts, and “roving models” for those who cannot travel. It relies on a range of assumptions including that there will be 75% takeup, outside of residential settings like care homes and prisons, where 100% is expected. The plan also relies on supplies, including more than 7 million doses being available in December. It is not clear what impact a delay to this would have on the rollout. With most doses due to be administered between early January and mid March — at a rate of 4-5 million every week — a small delay may not make a huge impact to the overall schedule. The document is dated 13 November and was shared among some senior NHS regional leaders yesterday. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 23 November 2020
  15. News Article
    Coronavirus antibodies last at least six months and offer protection against a second infection, a study of healthcare workers suggests. Staff at Oxford University Hospitals were regularly tested both for COVID-19 infections and for antibodies revealing a past infection. The more antibodies people had, the lower their chances of re-infection. A separate study found pre-existing immunity from other coronaviruses also protected against Covid. Infection consultant Dr Katie Jeffery described the Oxford findings as "encouraging news" ahead of forthcoming Covid vaccines. They indicated that having the virus once "provides at least short-term protection" from getting it again, she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 November 2020
  16. News Article
    People aged 50 to 64 in England will be able to get a free flu jab from 1 December in an attempt to fight the "twin threats" of flu and COVID-19. The group has been added to a list of people who are already eligible for a flu jab in England, such as those over 65 and health and social care workers. Thirty million people are being offered the vaccine in England's largest flu-immunisation programme to date. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was a winter "like no other". "We have to worry about the twin threats of flu and COVID-19," he said, adding that the coronavirus pandemic meant it was "more important than ever" that people got their flu jabs. Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast that all over 50s would be able to get the vaccine by January. Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 November 2020
  17. News Article
    Black and Asian people are up to twice as likely to be infected with COVID-19 compared to those of white ethnicities, according to a major new report. The risk of ending up in intensive care with coronavirus may be twice as high for people with an Asian background compared to white people, data gathered from more than 18 million individuals in 50 studies across the UK and US also suggests. The report, published in the EClinicalMedicine by The Lancet, is the first-ever meta-analysis of the effect of ethnicity on patients with COVID-19. The scientists behind it said their findings should be of "importance to policymakers" ahead of the possible roll out of a vaccine. Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 November 2020
  18. News Article
    Lockdown measures in England led to thousands fewer children receiving vital immunisations for a range of diseases include measles, diphtheria and whooping cough, Public Health England (PHE) has warned. PHE has warned parents they should continue to get their children immunised regardless of lockdown and restrictions brought on by coronavirus. During the first wave of coronavirus the government advised that children should continue to receive vaccinations as scheduled but despite these some appointments were delayed and the numbers of children vaccinated against common diseases fell compared to 2019. PHE looked at data from almost 40% of GP surgeries for use of the common 6-in-1 vaccination for diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and polio as well as uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to 19 October. In total 167,322 children had the 6-in-1 vaccine, a drop of 6,600 on the same period in 2019, a fall of almost 4%. A total of 167,670 children had the MMR jab, 4,700 fewer than in 2019, a drop of 2.8%. Although the vaccinations recovered after lockdown the rates are still lower overall than 2019. Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at Public Health England, said: “Vaccines remain the best defence against infection. It’s essential we maintain the highest possible uptake to prevent a resurgence of serious and sometimes life-threatening diseases. “Routine vaccinations are still available throughout the pandemic – it’s vital that we continue to make it as easy and safe as possible for parents to take their children to appointments.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 November 2020
  19. News Article
    Early results from trials of a Covid vaccine developed in Russia suggest it could be 92% effective. The data is based on 20 cases of COVID-19 from 16,000 volunteers given the Sputnik V vaccine or a dummy injection. While some scientists welcomed the news, others said the data had been rushed out too early. It comes after Pfizer and BioNTech said their vaccine could prevent 90% of people getting Covid-19, based on a study of 43,500 people. Although the Sputnik data is based on fewer people being vaccinated and fewer cases of Covid developing during the trial, it does confirm promising results from earlier research. The Sputnik V vaccine, developed at the National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, is currently going through phase III clinical trials in Belarus, UAE, Venezuela and India. So far there are no safety issues, with Russian researchers saying there were "no unexpected adverse events" 21 days after volunteers received their first of two injections. Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 November 2020
  20. News Article
    The NHS is ready to start providing the new coronavirus vaccine "as fast as safely possible", Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. Asked whether it could be available by Christmas, he said that was "absolutely a possibility" - but he expected the mass roll-out "in the first part of next year". He said vaccination clinics would be open seven days a week, and he was giving GPs an extra £150m. On Monday, early results from the world's first effective coronavirus vaccine showed it could prevent more than 90% of people from getting Covid. The vaccine has been developed by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech and is one of 11 vaccines that are currently in the final stages of testing. The UK has already ordered 40 million doses - enough to vaccinate up to 20 million people as each person will need two doses for it to work effectively. Asked how many people would need to be vaccinated before life can return to normal, Matt Hancock said: "Well the answer to that is we just don't know." "So the trials can tell you if a vaccine is clinically safe and if it's effective at protecting an individual from the disease. What we can't know, until we've vaccinated a significant proportion of the population, is how much it stops the transmission of the disease." Mr Hancock told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it would be "a mammoth logistical operation" and highlighted some of the challenges, including getting it from Belgium to the UK while not removing from a temperature of -70C more than four times. Older care home residents and care home staff are at the top of a list from government scientific advisers of who would get immunised first, followed by health workers. Mr Hancock said NHS staff would go into care homes to vaccinate residents, as well as setting up vaccination venues. Children would not be vaccinated, he said. However, Prof Sir John Bell from Oxford University said: "I would worry about not giving this to as wide a percentage of the population as we can." "I'm more of the view that we need to vaccinate further into the population and vaccinate younger people as well, partly because we don't really know what the long term effects of this disease are." The vaccine will not be released for use until it passes final safety tests and gets the go-ahead from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 November 2020
  21. News Article
    Pfizer and BioNTech have said that their coronavirus vaccine may be more than 90% effective, after the two pharmaceutical firms released interim data from their ongoing large-scale trial. Preliminary analysis, conducted by an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in the vaccine’s phase 3 study, which has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the US and five other countries. Of those participants who were infected with COVID-19, it is currently unclear how many had received the vaccine versus those who had been given a placebo. The current efficacy rate, which is much better than most experts expected, implies that no more than eight volunteers will have been inoculated. The data have yet to be peer-reviewed, and Pfizer said the initial protection rate might change by the time the study ends. The longevity of the immune response provoked by the mRNA-based vaccine also remains unknown. However, the findings are the most promising indication to date that a vaccine will be effective in preventing disease among infected individuals, handing humanity a crucial tool in tackling the pandemic. Pfizer and its German partner BioTech will continue with the phase 3 trial until 164 infections have been reported among volunteers - a figure that will give regulatory authorities a clearer idea of the vaccine’s efficacy. This number is expected to be reached by early December in light of the rising US infection rates, Pfizer said. The two companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek US emergency use authorisation later this month. Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 November 2020
  22. News Article
    The NHS has erroneously written to thousands of patients who have had glandular fever in the past asking them to get a flu jab from their GP. The error left some GPs with practice phone lines blocked last week while reception staff have had to explain to patients they are not actually eligible for free flu vaccination. Nearly 40,000 letters were sent out to patients with a past history indicating glandular fever because of a coding error at NHS Digital. This was meant to identify patients with suppressed immune systems which would include those who currently have glandular fever and encourage them to contact their GP practice to arrange vaccination. However, the historical cases were not excluded, leading to the letters being automatically generated even when the glandular fever diagnosis was decades old. When NHS Digital realised the error, it contacted NHS England – which was responsible for posting out the letters – and managed to stop others being sent out. An NHS Digital spokesman said: “During a process to identify patients eligible for a flu vaccination, glandular fever was incorrectly included in a complex list of conditions that cause persistent immunosuppression. This led to some patients incorrectly receiving a letter encouraging them to seek a flu vaccination. “There has been no adverse clinical impact for patients and the issue was quickly resolved before the majority of letters were sent.” NHSD said patients who had received the letter would receive another one to explain and to reassure them." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 4 November 2020
  23. News Article
    Levels of protective antibodies in people wane "quite rapidly" after coronavirus infection, say researchers. Antibodies are a key part of our immune defences and stop the virus from getting inside the body's cells. The Imperial College London team found the number of people testing positive for antibodies has fallen by 26% between June and September. They say immunity appears to be fading and there is a risk of catching the virus multiple times. More than 350,000 people in England have taken an antibody test as part of the REACT-2 study so far. In the first round of testing, at the end of June and the beginning of July, about 60 in 1,000 people had detectable antibodies. But in the latest set of tests, in September, only 44 per 1,000 people were positive. "Immunity is waning quite rapidly, we're only three months after our first [round of tests] and we're already showing a 26% decline in antibodies," said Prof Helen Ward, one of the researchers. The fall was greater in those over 65, compared with younger age groups, and in those without symptoms compared with those with full-blown COVID-19. The number of healthcare workers with antibodies remained relatively high, which the researchers suggest may be due to regular exposure to the virus. There have been very few confirmed cases of people getting Covid twice. However, the researchers warn this may be due to immunity only just starting to fade since the peak infection rates of March and April. The hope is the second infection will be milder than the first, even if immunity does decline, as the body should have an "immune memory" of the first encounter and know how to fight back. The researchers say their findings do not scupper hopes of a vaccine, which may prove more effective than a real infection. One of the researchers, Prof Graham Cooke, said: "The big picture is after the first wave, the great majority of the country didn't have evidence of protective immunity. The need for a vaccine is still very large, the data doesn't change that." Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 October 2020
  24. News Article
    A wider range of healthcare workers—including midwives, paramedics, physiotherapists, and pharmacists—are now allowed to give flu and potentially COVID-19 vaccines after the introduction of new laws by the UK government. The changes to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, first proposed in August1 and consulted upon last month, came into effect on 16 October. The Department of Health and Social Care said that the expanded workforce will have to undergo additional training to ensure patient safety. It added that government planning will “ensure this does not affect other services in hospitals and in GP and community services, by drawing on a pool of experienced NHS professionals through the NHS Bring Back Scheme.” Commenting on the changes, England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said, “The measures outlined today aim to improve access and strengthen existing safeguards protecting patients.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 16 October 2020
  25. News Article
    All pregnant women have been urged by doctors to get a free flu vaccination this winter to ensure they and their babies are protected. People can get infected with flu and coronavirus at the same time - with Public Health England finding if you get both simultaneously you may get more seriously ill. Researchers previously said those who have been infected with both viruses face a serious increase to their risk of death and warned the public “not to be complacent” in the wake of fears flu could circulate around the country alongside COVID-19. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and Royal College of Midwives note while getting flu is not a big deal for most people, getting the virus while you are pregnant can be serious for a small proportion of women and their babies. Flu can occasionally lead to stillbirth, maternal death and raise the chances of having a miscarriage. Dr Edward Morris, president of RCOG, said: “We are keen to reassure pregnant women that flu vaccination is safe for women to have at any stage in pregnancy - from the first few weeks right up to their due date, and while breastfeeding." "Over the last 10 years, the flu vaccine has been routinely and safely offered to pregnant women in the UK. The vaccine can also pass some protection to babies, which lasts for the first months of their lives." Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 October 2020
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