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A team of experts will be established to track side-effects from the swine flu jab amid fears over its potential risks.
Officials today said they were making plans to check for abnormal reactions in patients once the vaccine is launched next month.
Normal vaccine trials can take years to complete but doctors have admitted the swine flu jab will be given to the public before full safety data becomes available. It is expected to be the biggest NHS immunisation programme since the Fifties.
The potential risks of the vaccine range from minor effects such as rashes to Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare but serious disease of the nervous system which can result in short-term loss of feeling and movement.
A mass vaccination programme against swine flu inAmerica was halted in the Seventies after people developed the syndrome.
Ministers confirmed they had commissioned the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to carry out the monitoring programme. It will start as soon as the swine flu pandemic vaccination programme is introduced in the UK.
It is understood full clinical trials will be carried out at the same time.
Health minister Lord Darzi said the checks would take into account incidence rates for conditions including Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients according to their age and gender.
Laurence Buckman from the British Medical Association said it was too early to tell of the impact of the vaccine.
"Guillain-Barré is a risk with every vaccine and most GPs will have seen cases although side effects are extremely rare. If you vaccinate large numbers of people then there will be cases of Guillain-Barré."
Studies have shown there is no robust evidence of an increased risk of contracting the disorder from flu vaccines. This includes British research covering flu vaccines over the last 15 years.
The first batches of the H1N1 vaccine are due to arrive next month with enough for half the population expected to be delivered by December.
The groups most at risk from the disease will be vaccinated in order of priority as the batches arrive. These at-risk patients include people under 65 with long-term health issues, such as asthma, heart disease and kidney problems, as well as young children and teenagers.
London schoolgirl Natasha Newman, 16, who has been fighting for her life in a Greek hospital for more than a week after contracting swine flu, is still in a "critical but stable" condition but is showing a "steady improvement", Greek authorities said today.
Reader views (2)
Surely safety checks on the swine flue jab should be made BEFORE we are jabbed, not after. Think I will pass on this one until confirmed safe.
- Derek Flint, London
Don't panic!
Due to the swine flu virus going around, many companies have thoughtfully/helpfully provided antibacterial G.E.L. at strategic flu-bashing defensive bunkers/ammo dumps around thei buildings.
However, swine flu isn’t a bacteria, it’s a virus. So does this mean that these dug-in crack G.E.L. troops, even though SAS trained and armed to the teeth with triloscan (the active ingredient in many antibacterial products), are going to be overrun? Basically, are our plucky G.E.L. lads at the front having to use bows an’ arrows against the dirty, Geneva convention-snubbing swine flu’s Scud and Exocet missiles? Will the G.E.L. defences be effective in any way at all against the advancing swine-flu troops.
Several Google searches produced a common thread: antibacterial soaps do not kill viruses (which most of us who paid attention in biology at school either suspected, knew or had figured already). The following quote is typical:
“Washing your hands frequently with regular soap and water is important to help prevent the spread of germs. But while antibacterial products may seem like a stronger cleaning option, they are no more effective in cleaning your hands than regular soap and water--and they do not kill viruses like H1N1 (swine) flu. In fact, the routine use of antibacterial cleaning products has been seriously questioned by scientists and studies have shown that triclosan, the active ingredient in many antibacterial products, may make matters worse by creating h
- Paul H, London, UK
