H1N1 Flu – Pregnant Hong Kong Women Shun Vaccine

Hong Kong – The number of pregnant women in Hong Kong receiving the H1N1 vaccine continues to decline despite a recent study from Australia published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases that suggests pregnant women are more susceptible to severe complications from the pandemic influenza.

Barry C. Chung & Rebecca Valli report.

Right: Photo courtesy of SpaceOddissey – licenced under Creative Commons 2.0 / CC BY 2.0

The study concludes that pregnant women—particularly those in their second and third trimester—are more susceptible to miscarriages due to the pandemic H1N1 virus and thus recommends vaccination as a method of prevention.

The evidence from Australia comes at a time when public confidence in the vaccine in Hong Kong is low, following six cases of still birth and miscarriage among  pregnant women who had been vaccinated.   Public health officials say that there is no evidence linking the miscarriages and still births to the vaccination.

Hong Kong purchased 3 million doses of the vaccine from French Pharmaceutical maker Sanofi Pasteur and launched a campaign in late 2009 to fight the pandemic. The first batch of vaccines was received in mid-December, but fears of possible side effects coupled with complacency outweighed the fear of contracting the virus. Consequently, the public was not convinced the vaccination was necessary.

The debate rages between the apparent benefits and risks associated with the vaccine. Some doctors seem reluctant to administer the drug, especially to pregnant women in the first trimester when miscarriages are more common.

An average of a hundred pregnant women were vaccinated in the first two weeks of the vaccination program, which started on December 21, 2009. In the week ending February 12, the number dropped to 14, according to figures released by the Centre for Health Protection.

Benjamin J. Cowling, professor at the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong, thinks the media should be held responsible for pregnant women’s decision not to get vaccinated.

“In the case of  H1N1, pregnant women are not getting vaccinated because they perceive a risk, and they perceive a risk because of the media hype,” he said, adding that Hong Kongers perceive that the risk of getting vaccinated is higher than the risk posed by the virus itself.

Cowling also denies any link between the vaccine and miscarriages. “I suspect the risk of serious infection [from H1N1] in pregnant women outweighs the potential reactions to the vaccination,” he said.

Doctors also appear are reluctant to ask women in the early stages of pregnancy to get vaccinated.

“A lot of doctors would not push pregnant women to get vaccinated during the first trimester. They would rather tell them to wait,” said Dr Choi Kin, a private doctor and former president of the Hong Kong Medical Association. “That’s because foetus deaths are common in the first trimester and people would inevitably link miscarriages to the vaccine,” he said.

Choi was adamant in denying a  link between miscarriages and the vaccine. “There is no evidence that pregnant women are at risk after taking the vaccination.”