IGMH starts flu shot program directed towards expectant mothers

Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has started giving H1N1 influenza vaccination to pregnant women, on Wednesday.

The hospital says that from Thursday onward, its Reproductive Health Clinic will be giving the flu vaccines to expectant mothers.

• Pregnant women, children, the elderly, and those with existing respiratory conditions are susceptible to manifesting the influenza strain more severely.

The women are required to bring in their national identity cards, as well as proof of their pregnancy.

IGMH said that by Wednesday evening, 300 people were given the influenza vaccination.

Dr. Abdulla Niyaf, at a press conference on Monday night, had said that the country has “a limited stock” of the vaccines, and that authorities were deliberating on ways to acquire more, with the World Health Organization (WHO), and friendly nations.

Less than 12 hours after confirming the spread of the virus across the country, downplaying it to the public saying there was no cause for worry, authorities revealed that the it was increasing rapidly, declaring national alert level at Phase Three.

READ MORE: 51 patients test positive for H1N1, national alert at Phase Three

They said that a 27-year-old who had died on March 4 had tested positive for the infection, and that three, including a pregnant woman, were in critical condition. Since then, doctors were forced to deliver a pregnant H1N1 patient’s five-month old fetus, and four additional patients have been admitted at IGMH.

READ MORE: IGMH's flu clinic saw 1,000 patients, four admitted

READ MORE: Doctors forced to deliver H1N1 patient's 5-month-old fetus

Academic institutions, including grade schools, colleges, and universities, have been closed to control spreading, and citizens have been advised to exercise extreme caution and stay away from crowded areas