SCMP: 4 women lose babies after shots, but vaccine not cause, says official
From today's SCMP
SWINE FLU
Ng Yuk-hang
Jan 26, 2010
Four more pregnant women have lost their babies after getting the swine flu jab, but a senior health official considers miscarriage a "trivial" condition and disclosed the occurrences only after inquiries by the media yesterday.
Centre for Health Protection controller Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai said the women, aged 28 to 37, had miscarried two weeks to a month after receiving the vaccine between December 23 and January 6.
The centre received these reports on January 21 and 22. They came after previous announcements that two women, aged 37 and 33, had stillbirths about three weeks after receiving the shots.
Miscarriage occurs when a woman loses a baby when she is less than 24 weeks' pregnant. If the baby dies later than that, it is called a stillbirth.
Figures released by the government last night have cast doubt on its claim that the chance of a serious case of swine flu developing in pregnant patients who are infected is 10 times higher than for other people.
Of the 354 pregnant women tested with swine flu so far, only one was a serious case, representing a rate of 0.28 per cent. This compares with the 235 serious cases in 35,000 swine flu patients recorded in Hong Kong so far, a rate of 0.67 per cent.
Tsang said international experience showed miscarriages and stillbirths were not related to the vaccine.
He said miscarriage was "very, very, very common" and occurs once in every five pregnancies.
The government does not consider miscarriage to be a "serious condition" doctors must report after administering the swine flu jab, but Tsang said the centre would publish these "trivial" conditions on its website because of public concern.
The centre also received reports of shoulder and hip pain, blood in urine and terminal cancer after people had the shots, "but all these are not related to the vaccine", he said.
The vaccination rate has been severely hit by recent reports of suspected side effects. Over the weekend, 2,063 people were vaccinated, of whom only four were pregnant.
Since the programme began on December 21, only 7.14 per cent of the two million people in high-risk groups have had the shots.
Hong Kong College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists spokesman Dr Robert Law Chi-lim said women in the second half of pregnancy had a 0.1 to 0.2 per cent chance of a stillbirth, but there was no evidence to prove the swine flu vaccine would increase the risk. The stillbirth rate among pregnant women who had the vaccination is 0.15 per cent.
Tsang said the government would review the programme if it reached 0.6 per cent.
Law said pregnant women should discuss with their doctors the pros and cons of receiving the vaccine, but the college still recommended the injection.
The husband one of the women who suffered a miscarriage said he was considering seeking compensation from the health authorities, TVB (SEHK: 0511) reported. His wife, 39, received a swine flu jab on December 24, when she was eight weeks pregnant with her third child. She felt sick on Thursday and went to Princess Margaret Hospital, where an ultrasound scan showed the fetus was dead.
Meanwhile, a 76-year-old man who died on Sunday was the 62nd casualty of swine flu in Hong Kong.
SWINE FLU
Ng Yuk-hang
Jan 26, 2010
Four more pregnant women have lost their babies after getting the swine flu jab, but a senior health official considers miscarriage a "trivial" condition and disclosed the occurrences only after inquiries by the media yesterday.
Centre for Health Protection controller Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai said the women, aged 28 to 37, had miscarried two weeks to a month after receiving the vaccine between December 23 and January 6.
The centre received these reports on January 21 and 22. They came after previous announcements that two women, aged 37 and 33, had stillbirths about three weeks after receiving the shots.
Miscarriage occurs when a woman loses a baby when she is less than 24 weeks' pregnant. If the baby dies later than that, it is called a stillbirth.
Figures released by the government last night have cast doubt on its claim that the chance of a serious case of swine flu developing in pregnant patients who are infected is 10 times higher than for other people.
Of the 354 pregnant women tested with swine flu so far, only one was a serious case, representing a rate of 0.28 per cent. This compares with the 235 serious cases in 35,000 swine flu patients recorded in Hong Kong so far, a rate of 0.67 per cent.
Tsang said international experience showed miscarriages and stillbirths were not related to the vaccine.
He said miscarriage was "very, very, very common" and occurs once in every five pregnancies.
The government does not consider miscarriage to be a "serious condition" doctors must report after administering the swine flu jab, but Tsang said the centre would publish these "trivial" conditions on its website because of public concern.
The centre also received reports of shoulder and hip pain, blood in urine and terminal cancer after people had the shots, "but all these are not related to the vaccine", he said.
The vaccination rate has been severely hit by recent reports of suspected side effects. Over the weekend, 2,063 people were vaccinated, of whom only four were pregnant.
Since the programme began on December 21, only 7.14 per cent of the two million people in high-risk groups have had the shots.
Hong Kong College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists spokesman Dr Robert Law Chi-lim said women in the second half of pregnancy had a 0.1 to 0.2 per cent chance of a stillbirth, but there was no evidence to prove the swine flu vaccine would increase the risk. The stillbirth rate among pregnant women who had the vaccination is 0.15 per cent.
Tsang said the government would review the programme if it reached 0.6 per cent.
Law said pregnant women should discuss with their doctors the pros and cons of receiving the vaccine, but the college still recommended the injection.
The husband one of the women who suffered a miscarriage said he was considering seeking compensation from the health authorities, TVB (SEHK: 0511) reported. His wife, 39, received a swine flu jab on December 24, when she was eight weeks pregnant with her third child. She felt sick on Thursday and went to Princess Margaret Hospital, where an ultrasound scan showed the fetus was dead.
Meanwhile, a 76-year-old man who died on Sunday was the 62nd casualty of swine flu in Hong Kong.
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