Swine flu vaccine for Afghanistan troops
UK troops deployed in Afghanistan offered vaccination against swine flu
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Thursday, 15, Oct 2009 05:09
By Richard James.
UK troops deployed in Afghanistan will be offered a vaccination against swine flu, it has been announced.
On the day it was confirmed there had been 27,000 new cases of the H1N1 virus in England during the past week, the government said it would start rolling out its vaccine.
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The decision to vaccinate troops is part of the attempts to protect priority groupings from pandemic flu.
"Recognising the uniquely challenging task facing our troops in Afghanistan, front-line troops will be offered the jab to protect against a major outbreak of swine flu and maintain the numbers of troops available to commanders," a statement from the Ministry of Defence said.
The total number of personnel offered the vaccination is predicted to total 15,000.
The vaccination programme will begin after the vaccination of people in the UK in clinical at-risk groups as a result of underlying health conditions.