BMA statement on H1N1 vaccination programme for under fives - 08 Dec 09

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Arrangements to vaccinate the under fives against swine flu should be made locally the BMA said today (Tuesday 8 December 2009). In a letter to all GPs, Dr Laurence Buckman, Chairman of the BMA’s GPs Committee, said it had not been possible to reach an agreement with the UK governments on a national framework, but instead plans should be put in place locally to ensure all eligible children are vaccinated “as quickly as practically possible.”

Commenting on the announcement Dr Buckman said:

• “We sincerely wanted to be able to reach a national agreement with the UK governments about a process for vaccinating the under fives against swine flu. Unfortunately this has not been possible, because the government would not support adequate measures to help free up staff time. At the busiest time of the year for general practice, with surgeries already dealing with the additional work of vaccinating the first wave of at-risk groups, we felt this was vital in order to ensure this next phase could be carried out quickly.
• “We would encourage Local Medical Committees* and Primary Care Organisations (PCOs) to put in place arrangements that are sensitive to the workload pressures in their area. These should be agreed as soon as possible.
• “We appreciate that parents of young children might be worried when they hear that there will be no national framework and want to assure them that this does not mean their children will not be vaccinated. We know many PCOs have already been in contact with GPs in their area to talk about making local arrangements. Given that most practices are also currently working through their vaccination programme for the first wave of at-risk groups, we don’t anticipate delays in the vaccination programme for the under fives getting underway.”

Related items...

• The letter to the profession can be viewed in full here
• DH - Swine Flu Vaccinations for under fives to start before Christmas - 8 Dec

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