The government today played down reports that pregnant women are to be offered routine flu vaccinations to protect them and their unborn children from the health risks of seasonal flu.
Minutes from a government panel reveal that medical experts will shortly recommend to ministers that women should be given the flu vaccine midway through pregnancy.
The joint committee on vaccination and immunisation agreed at a meeting in June that pregnant women were "at an increased risk of morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza".
The panel noted that the most significant risk from flu to both mothers and babies occurred in the later stages of pregnancy. It said that vaccination would benefit both women and newborn children.
Minutes from the meeting said: "The committee recommended that influenza vaccination should be routinely offered to pregnant women in their second and third trimester. This recommendation will be submitted to ministers shortly."
It added that to avoid exposing pregnant women to mercury they should be offered so-called thiomersal-free vaccines where available.
But a spokeswoman for the Department of Health dismissed as "premature speculation" a report in the Daily Mail that there would be a mass vaccination drive for pregnant women from next year.
A statement from the department said: "In the case of routine flu jabs for pregnant women, the JCVI has not yet made a recommendation to the DH. No decisions will be taken until the main JCVI present their recommendations to ministers for consideration." The flu vaccine is currently given to high-risk groups first, including the over-65s, people with respiratory conditions such as asthma, and those with chronic conditions such as diabetes.
The JCVI also recommended that poultry workers be added to the list of those given priority for the jab, to protect them from bird flu.
Doctors are expected to ration this year's flu jabs because of shortages of supply.
Studies have show that women who have flu in pregnancy are more likely to suffer complications, and their child could be at higher risk of developmental disorders.
A report in the American Journal of Epidemiology found a possible link between influenza and pneumonia in pregnancy and leukaemia in the child.
