08 HEAltH MAttErS
Getting the Swine Flu vaccine means you won’t get Swine Flu. It also means you won’t pass it
to your patients and your family. Every vaccinated person helps to stop this flu from spreading.
Healthcare Workers are one of the first groups to be offered the free Swine Flu Vaccine, after
people with at-risk medical conditions and pregnant women. We all have questions about
Swine Flu and the vaccine – here are some common questions and answers.
sWIne flU vaccInes
for health care Workers
d WHaT IS get the vaccine, the less flu will get passed Celvapan vaccine, two doses of vaccine are
paNdeMIC H1N1 around. If you are vaccinated, Swine Flu required to give full protection from Swine
or SWINe flU? stops with you. Flu. the HSE will inform people who have
Pandemic (H1N1) the Celvapan vaccine when they should
2009, or Swine As a healthcare worker you are one of the come for their second vaccine and when it
Flu, is a new form first to get the vaccine because: is available. Both vaccines are considered
of flu that, for most • You are more likely to come into contact to be equally effective and have the same
people, has caused with people who have flu; safety profile.
mild to moderate • You can easily pass pandemic flu to
illness. However, some people have had vulnerable patients before you even d HoW Safe IS THe SWINe flU
a more severe illness and some have died realise you are ill; vaCCINe?
– including younger children, pregnant • You can easily bring the infection home to Both Swine Flu vaccines used in Ireland
women, people with long-term illnesses your family before you realise you are ill. have been licensed by European
and previously healthy adults. Most people Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the Irish
under 65 have no immunity to Swine Flu so, d HoW loNg doeS IT Take THe Medicines Board. these vaccines have
over the coming months, the HSE will offer vaCCINe To Work? been given to millions of people across
a vaccine against Swine Flu to everyone the vaccine starts to work within two Europe already, and side effects have been
living in Ireland. weeks – there are two different makes of as expected - mostly mild and like those
vaccine being used in Ireland - Pandemrix seen with seasonal flu vaccines.Serious
d If IT’S a MoSTly MIld IllNeSS, (manufactured by GSk) and Celvapan side effects are expected to be very rare.
WHy vaCCINaTe So MaNy people? (manufactured by Baxter). For the the Swine Flu vaccine contains killed virus
First of all, it’s a mild illness for most people, Pandemrix vaccine, one dose of the and therefore cannot cause influenza.
but not for everyone. Getting the vaccine vaccine is sufficient to protect most people
protects you, but it also protects the people from Swine Flu. the only exception to d WHaT IS THIoMerSal aNd IS
around you too, like your family or children, this is children aged under 13 years and IT Safe?
your patients, or someone close to you who people with immunosuppression, who will thiomersal is a mercury-containing
is not in full health. the more people that require two doses of this vaccine. For the compound that has been used since the
health matters is 4.indd 8 27/11/2009 20:34:47
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