H1N1 vaccine highly recommended

The letter by John Ivens (Awareness Needed On The Side Effects Of Medicine, January 1) makes sad reading. His advice against vaccination reflects misinformation and prejudice and, if followed, could have serious public health consequences.

There is no doubt that, over the past several decades, vaccination against several important infectious diseases has proved to be one of the major success stories of modern medicine.

Vaccination programmes have saved countless lives all over the world and no one in his right senses would dispute this.

This is despite the fact that no vaccine can be 100 per cent effective and, like all medical interventions, vaccines can have possible adverse effects and one has to balance the risks against benefits in each case.

I have no doubt that the advice of the World Health Organisation and other leading international health agencies currently recommending vaccination against influenza H1N1 is correct and is based on available knowledge and information.

The vaccine appears to be both safe and effective. Although, so far, many influenza H1N1 cases have thankfully proven to be mild, the recent tragic death in Malta caused by the virus shows that the infection can be serious and protective measures should be encouraged.

I therefore salute the efforts by the local health authorities, despite the expense involved, to provide vaccination against influenza H1N1 and strongly recommend vaccination to protect against infection and reduce spread of the virus throughout the population.