YLE.fi
The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is providing pregnant women with the wrong swine flu vaccine, according to the non-profit vaccine awareness organisation Rokotusinfo. However, THL researcher Petri Ruutu insists the vaccine is safe.
The organisation claims that Finland has failed to order the vaccine recommended for pregnant women by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO recommends that pregnant women primarily be given a vaccine that does not contain an adjuvant, an additive that bolsters the body’s immune response to the vaccine.
Side effects of the adjuvant have not been studied in pregnant women or unborn children.
Rokotusinfo also claims that the THL has provided misinformation on the side effects of the vaccine. The organisation says the side effects of the swine flu vaccine are up to ten times greater than side effects for regular seasonal influenza.
In addition, Rokotusinfo says that the THL ordered the Pandemrix vaccine for the entire Finnish population without the opportunity for competitive bidding.
Meanwhile, THL researcher Petri Ruutu told YLE’s Morning TV talk show on Thursday that the vaccine is safe.
“The risks of the vaccine are less than the risks of an epidemic,†he says.