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Swine Flu

Jab Boy

Rushed To

Hospital

By Lisa Smith

OCTOBER 27TH, 2009

Belefast Telegraph

BELEFASTTELEGRAPH.CO.UK

The safety of Northern Ireland’s

swine flu vaccination programme

was called into question today

by the parent of a young special

needs pupil who ended up in

hospital just hours after

getting the jab.

Anne Marie Fletcher said she

feared her 15-year-old son

Rhys was going to die as she

rushed him to hospital less

than 24 hours after receiving

the swine flu vaccine.

The teenager fell seriously ill

after receiving the injection,

along with thousands of other

pupils across Northern Ireland

last Friday.

He was later diagnosed

with swine flu.

“My husband drove us to Antrim

(Area Hospital)

and I sat in the back with Rhys,”

she told the Belfast Telegraph.

“By this stage he

was going into spasms.

He couldn’t bend his fingers.

I was absolutely terrified.

“He was rambling and

becoming incoherent.

I honestly thought he was

going to die in the back

of the car.

“He kept saying he wanted

to sleep but I wouldn’t dare

let him close his eyes because

I was frightened that if I did

he would never wake up.”

The Public Health Agency,

the organisation tasked with

managing Northern Ireland’s

response to the swine flu

pandemic,

has stated clearly that anyone

suffering from flu-like symptoms

should remain at home and

contact their GP by telephone.

The experience of the

Fletcher family from Carrickfergus

calls into question whether

Government protocols regarding

the handling of swine flu are

being followed.

It is the latest episode to

shake public confidence after

the family of a Londonderry

teenager who died with the

virus was not informed she

had it until after her funeral.

Some 2,500 children in over

20 special schools for severe

learning disability across

Northern Ireland were offered

the vaccine last week after

four pupils died with the

virus this month.

The Fletcher family’s ordeal

began on Friday, several hours

after 15-year-old Rhys received

the swine flu vaccine at Hillcroft

Special School in Newtownabbey.

“I was concerned about Rhys

having the vaccination but after

what I heard about the four

children with special needs dying

after contracting swine flu I

thought it was better to be safe

than sorry,”

Mrs Fletcher said.

“I took him into school on

Friday and he had his injection.

A few hours later he started

complaining of having a sore arm.

He also had a temperature

and he was starting to cough.

During the night he started

to complain that he felt sick.

He was up and down most

of the night retching.”

Mrs Fletcher contacted the

out-of-hours GP service and was

told to bring Rhys to Whiteabbey

Hospital.

She expressed concerns about

bringing him to a hospital in

light of his symptoms.

“He was in a lot of

discomfort and a lot of pain.

He was surrounded by people

and they were objecting about

him being in the waiting area.

When we were eventually seen

we were told he had to be

referred to Antrim Area Hospital.

“My husband drove us to Antrim

and I sat in the back with Rhys.

By this stage he

was going into spasms.

He couldn’t bend his fingers,

I was absolutely terrified.

He was rambling and

becoming incoherent.

I honestly thought he was

going to die in the back of the car.

“He kept saying he wanted

to sleep but I wouldn’t dare

let him close his eyes because I

was frightened that if I did he

would never wake up.”

Following treatment at Antrim

Area Hospital the teenager’s

condition improved enough for

him to be discharged,

but several hours after returning

home the family received a

telephone call from the Public

Health Agency.

“They mentioned that Rhys

may have swine flu when he

was in Antrim Hospital but then

they said he didn’t have it and

he was probably suffering from

a reaction from the injection,

although they said they

couldn’t be sure,”

continued Mrs Fletcher.

“We took Rhys home and just

before 11pm we got a call from

a doctor with the Public Health

Agency who wanted to discuss

Rhys’ symptoms.

They phoned again about

11.10pm and asked me to bring

Rhys to Dalriada (out of hours GP)

to be tested for swine flu,

but I told them I wasn’t taking

him anywhere at that

time of night.

“They phoned back later and

said there was no urgency and

we could bring in the morning,

but I refused. I told them I

thought people with suspected

swine flu shouldn’t be taken to

hospital and they said it was OK

because they could see him

in a private room.

“I was disgusted at this point

and said I wouldn’t bring Rhys

to hospital,

so eventually a district nurse

came out on Sunday to take

some swabs.

We got a phone call later

on to say he had swine flu.”

Mrs Fletcher said she was

horrified at the treatment her

son has received and that she

has serious concerns that countless

other people have been exposed

to the virus as a result.

“Rhys is still very listless and

I’m worried he could become

badly affected by the swine flu.

He is on Tamiflu now but I’m

also worried he could suffer

side-effects from that as well.”

The Department of Health said

it could not comment on

operational matters,

while the Public Health Agency

did not provide a response.

A spokesman from the

Northern Health Trust said:

“We appreciate that this issue

was brought to our attention.

We cannot discuss individual

cases but there is an agreed

protocol for dealing with cases

such as this.

A number of agencies were

involved and clearly the protocol

was not followed as it should

have been.

“We appreciate the concerns

that this will have caused and we

will examine the circumstances

with our partner organisations

to make sure this does

not happen again.”

Meanwhile,

the Health Minister has

announced that the swine flu

vaccination is to be offered to

staff who provide personal care

for pupils at special schools here.

The vaccination programme for

children with complex special

needs was carried out last week.

“The staff who provide personal

care to the vulnerable children

within special schools for severe

learning disability are doing

similar work as frontline health

and social care workers.

Therefore I believe that this

move will further protect this

vulnerable group of children

and young people.

I have asked the Public Health

Agency to make arrangements

to offer vaccine to this group

of staff as quickly as possible,”

Michael McGimpsey said.

Your questions answered

How can we be sure

these new vaccines

are safe and effective?

Pandemrix and Celvapan are

both licensed vaccines.

Similar vaccines containing

another flu virus strain (H5N1)

have been clinically tested in

trials involving over 5,000 people.

When it licensed the vaccines

the European Commission carefully

considered all the evidence and

recommended that they

could be used.

The vaccine is not live and

cannot cause swine flu.

The trial and approval process

has been quick with the first

trials only starting over

the summer.

But this fast-tracking is not

unusual for flu vaccines.

Are there

any side-effects?

All vaccinations can

produce side-effects such

as redness, soreness and

swelling at the site of

the injection.

Flu vaccines can cause

symptoms like fever,

headache and muscle aches,

but they are much milder

than the flu itself and only

last a day or so.

Who can’t have

the swine flu vaccine

There are only a few people

who cannot have the swine

flu vaccine.

The vaccines should not be

given to anyone who has had

a severe allergic reaction to a

previous dose of the vaccinE.

What about people

who suffer from

egg allergies?

Pandemrix is prepared in

hens’ eggs in the same way

that seasonal flu vaccines are.

It should not be given to people

who have had a confirmed

anaphylactic reaction after being

exposed to egg products.

.

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Before you get a

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read this!

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H1N1 (Swine Flu) drug

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(Oseltamivir Phosphate)

side effects alert!

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(Oseltamivir Phosphate)

effects worse than

Swine Flu (H1N1 influenza)!

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for children!

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more harm than good!

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reported after ingesting

Tamiflu for the H1N1

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Panic Exposed!

No time to think,

react now now now!

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