Experts back call for pregnant women to get vaccinated against swine flu

TORONTO - The organization representing Canada's obstetricians and gynecologists is adding its voice to the call for pregnant women to get vaccinated against swine flu.

And the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada said Thursday its members and their office staff should lead by example, getting vaccinated themselves.

The society says scientific evidence suggests that adjuvanted vaccines are just as safe as vaccine without adjuvant and pregnant women could get either.

Canada's pandemic vaccine contains an adjuvant, which is an additive that boosts the response to the vaccine; some unadjuvanted vaccine will be available for pregnant women in early November.

The society is recommending that women 20 weeks or more into a pregnancy and women under 20 weeks with underlying risk conditions not wait, saying they should get an H1N1 shot as soon as vaccine is available.

It also says pregnant women should be given a prescription for antiviral drugs that they can fill and take if they contract swine flu.