England’s health service urged to provide halal flu vaccine

A gathering grassroots boycott of the influenza vaccine distributed by the British health service has triggered warnings of a winter epidemic unless a halal option is made available by the state. The Fluenz nasal spray that is to be given to all children between the ages of two and 10 in the coming months contains gelatin, which is derived from pigs and has seen some Muslim parents choose to refuse the free treatment. Officials say uptake in children from areas with a high proportion of Muslim families is “slightly lower” although a leaked document said it could be significantly less. An alternative halal injection vaccine is only available to the “small” group of children at a higher risk of complications from the flu who can’t take the nasal spray, Public Health England, the body that procures and administer the treatment, said. Authorities have been urged to follow the model in Scotland where parents can ask for the injection for religious reasons. Health officials say the nasal vaccine provides much more effective protection than the injection. Children have been described as “super-spreaders,” capable of infecting vulnerable members of the community and families. Elderly people, asthma sufferers and pregnant women with the flu are at a particular risk of complications such as pneumonia or even death. Overall uptake in school aged children in the last flu season was 60.8%, PHE said. Concerns over the threat of an outbreak of flu taking hold have been raised over the involvement of the Muslim Council of Britain in spreading warnings about the make-up of the vaccine. Powerful campaigning organisations have been instrumental elsewhere as cornerstones of medical scare campaigns. The US and other countries have suffered measles outbreaks following the rise of the so-called anti-vaxxer movement. "We know that concerns remain amongst some communities about the acceptability of the nasal spray and we have discussed this with the Muslim Council and other faith groups,” said Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE. “Our first priority is to ensure that vaccines are safe and effective, and PHE does recommend acceptable alternative vaccines where we believe they will perform as well,” she said. Gelatin is used as a stabiliser to ensure that the vaccine remains safe and effective during storage. But officials say developing a new vaccine can take many years until it is fit for market. “Once the manufacturer has chosen the stabiliser for the vaccine, any change in this could require extensive laboratory and clinical studies to show that the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine has not been affected,” said Public Health England. “Because of this, developing a new safe and effective vaccine with a different stabiliser may take several years or may never happen.” "Our health system rightly has no authority over matters of faith, but it does have a responsibility to reduce the risk of harm as much as possible. We therefore believe that parents who have faith-based objections to the nasal vaccine should be offered the best possible alternative," said Will Durant, vaccines policy leader at the Royal Society for Public Health. "At the moment this is the injectable vaccine – less effective than the nasal vaccine, but far more effective than no vaccine at all," he added. The MCB has defended its role, saying it conveyed the views of religious panellists. It added “vaccines containing porcine are not permitted in Islam unless lives are at risk and there are no alternatives”. “Our view is not that Muslims should automatically refuse such treatment. Health is paramount, anyone concerned about the use of gelatin in vaccines must consult a medical practitioner and make an informed decision,” it said. The MCB also said “there are certainly lessons that can be drawn” from Scotland, where the halal injection is offered to all if it is their preferred option. According to a document seen by The Daily Telegraph: “Vaccine uptake is significantly and independently associated with increasing deprivation, ethnicity and areas with the largest Muslim populations.”

England’s health service urged to provide halal flu vaccine

Fears of a winter epidemic unless children given alternative option by state programme