英國(guó)衛(wèi)生部已經(jīng)明確，六個(gè)月到五歲間的兒童將會(huì)在下個(gè)月接種甲流疫苗。

最近的流行疾病報(bào)告稱，兒童就醫(yī)人數(shù)急劇上升，病人死亡人數(shù)也在猛增，因此政府的疫苗接種計(jì)劃的范圍也擴(kuò)大了。

受感染需要住院治療的人數(shù)有783人，比起上周的785人稍微下降。而在住院的人中，有180人需要受到重癥監(jiān)護(hù)，比起上周的173人又有上升。

越來(lái)越多的證據(jù)表明，兒童對(duì)甲流病毒的抵抗力很弱，因此，也有了將兒童納入疫苗接種計(jì)劃的下一階段的決定。在英國(guó)，21％的甲流死亡人數(shù)是14歲以下的。80％需要就醫(yī)的五歲以下兒童以前都沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)過(guò)健康問(wèn)題。

現(xiàn)有的疫苗接種優(yōu)先人群包括那些之前就有身體狀況的人，還有他們的保健人員，以及孕婦。例如，有哮喘病或糖尿病的年輕人已經(jīng)接種了疫苗。現(xiàn)在又加入一批人群，因此目標(biāo)優(yōu)先接種群體會(huì)從1400萬(wàn)達(dá)到2000萬(wàn)人。公醫(yī)即使沒(méi)有為其他優(yōu)先群體的所有病人接種完疫苗，也要在圣誕之前開始為健康兒童接種疫苗。

總醫(yī)務(wù)官利亞姆·唐納森爵士說(shuō)：“保護(hù)高危人群，會(huì)使疾病的嚴(yán)峻程度和死亡人數(shù)下降。這就是我們要馬上為兒童接種疫苗的原因。

“接種疫苗仍然是個(gè)人的選擇，但我還是強(qiáng)烈希望有機(jī)會(huì)接種疫苗的人接受它，保護(hù)自己。流感發(fā)生嚴(yán)重并發(fā)癥可能性會(huì)很小，但是患者一旦出現(xiàn)這些并發(fā)癥將有致命危險(xiǎn)?！?/span>

特倫斯·斯蒂文森教授，兒科和兒童健康皇家學(xué)院的校長(zhǎng)說(shuō)：“（我們）強(qiáng)烈鼓勵(lì)父母為他們的孩子接種疫苗。我們也想強(qiáng)調(diào)一下兒童醫(yī)生和護(hù)士接種疫苗的重要性，至少要做到不要傳染給他們的病人，那些可能是有著嚴(yán)重疾病的脆弱孩子?！?/span>

估計(jì)大概有715000人已經(jīng)感染了甲流。其中近2/3在英國(guó)死亡的人是在44歲以下的。

更多資訊請(qǐng)瀏覽


Healthy children aged between six months and five years old will be vaccinated against swine flu from next month, the Department of Health has confirmed.

The expansion of the government's inoculation programme comes as the latest pandemic bulletin reported a sharp rise in the number of children being admitted to hospital and a further surge in patient deaths.

The overall estimate of swine flu cases, however, showed a second successive weekly fall. Health officials estimate there were 55,000 new cases this week in England compared with 64,000 last week. There was also a dip in cases in Scotland. The decline could still be a temporary consequence of warm weather or half-term: pupils have been one of the main transmission routes.

The number of people needing hospital care for the virus is 783, down slightly from 785 in the previous week. Of those in hospital, 180 were in intensive care - up from 173 the previous week.

The decision to include young children in the next phase of the inoculation programme comes as evidence accumulates demonstrating their vulnerability to the H1N1 virus. Around 21% of all H1N1 deaths in the UK have been among the under-14s. More than 80% of the under-fives who ended up in hospital had no previous health problems.

The existing vaccine priority groups include those with pre-existing medical conditions, their carers and pregnant women. Youngsters with asthma or diabetes, for example, are already being vaccinated. The additional categories will raise the target numbers for priority vaccine groups from 14 million to approaching 20 million. GPs are expected to begin offering the vaccine to healthy young children before Christmas even if they have not inoculated all their patients in other priority groups.

The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said: "Protecting those most at risk from the disease will reduce the levels of serious illness, and deaths. That's why we will shortly offer the vaccine to young children.

"Vaccination remains a personal choice, but I urge everyone who is offered the vaccine to accept it and protect themselves. While the risks of serious complications from flu may be small, the impact on those affected can be devastating."

Professor Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "[We] strongly recommend that parents should get their children vaccinated if they are offered the vaccine. We would like to emphasise the importance of children's doctors and nurses being vaccinated too, not least to prevent passing the infection on to their patients who may be vulnerable children with serious diseases."

Around 715,000 people are estimated to have caught the infection. Nearly two-thirds of those who have died in the UK have been under the age of 44.

該內(nèi)容來(lái)源于英國(guó)總領(lǐng)事館文化教育處