Flu jab - is it worth the risk?

Priceline Pharmacies has drawn the ire of the Australian Medical Association for its plan to offer cut price shots from registered nurses in its pharmacies.

Poll

Is it worth the risk of getting a flu jab this year in light of what could be a bad season?

This poll ended on 07 May 2011.

Yes

60%

No

40%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

Related links

• Worry over low flu shot rates

TO INOCULATE or to not inoculate – that is the big question again this influenza season.

Debate continues to rage over flu vaccines as one pharmacy chain plans to introduce $30 shots at its 160 outlets across Australia.

Priceline Pharmacies has drawn the ire of the Australian Medical Association for its plan to offer cut price shots from registered nurses in its pharmacies, though the local Ballina and Lismore franchises won’t be participating, preferring to leave the medical procedure to qualified doctors.

Bart Vanarey from Ballina Priceline Pharmacy said Ballina was well serviced by doctors and clinics that already "do a really good job" and Tom Gordon from Priceline in Lismore said he was happy to supply the medication but asked customers to take it to their doctor to administer.

"A professional clinical environment where they know the patient’s history and they are properly equipped if something going wrong is a better situation," he said.

"The vaccine is not for everyone and the (topic) is fraught with issues."

AMA federal vice-president Steve Hambleton said on Wednesday that patients were better off being vaccinated by a doctor or clinical practice nurse at a local general practice in case of adverse reactions, and warned that administering vaccines in pharmacies could lead to the fragmentation of patient records.

"Doctors are medically trained, they've all got treatment rooms and facilities to resuscitate people who end up with reactions to vaccines," he said.

"It's rare but you want to first of all recognise it and secondly be able to deal with it.

"We want to get the vaccination rates up but we want to do it safely."

Meanwhile, infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon from the Australian National University has questioned the use of flu vaccines in healthy people and called for a review of the national flu vaccination policy following the results of new research.

One study showed that people in Canada and Hong Kong vaccinated with seasonal flu vaccines appear to have had twice the susceptibility to the swine flu pandemic that struck in 2008.

Other findings included evidence that people infected naturally gained a broader protection than those vaccinated.

The federal government’s chief health officer Professor Jim Bishop countered, saying the evidence was patchy and the Commonwealth’s flu vaccination program had been effective and beneficial.

The director of North Coast Public Health, Paul Corben, has downplayed the controversies and maintained the importance of flu vaccination for the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.

"The vaccine is recommended for people susceptible to complications from influenza – these are people over 65, all Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people aged 15 and over, pregnant women, and anyone aged six months or over with a medical condition that predisposes them to having severe flu.

"Most people will know if they have a chronic condition and they should get along and talk to their doctor about it."