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Top doctor says very few adverse reactions to H1N1 vaccine
- I, t, L% Q D(CP) – 6 hours ago
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2 c9 m; t& |1 V6 P0 e4 C/ s3 UOTTAWA — The country's chief public health officer says few Canadians have suffered serious side effects from the swine-flu shot.
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% y. N1 d6 g+ g4 Y7 tDr. David Butler-Jones says that of the 6.5 million people who have received the H1N1 vaccine, only 36 have had serious adverse reactions.
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"With any vaccination campaign, we expect to see some cases of serious adverse events," he said. "They are very rare, but they are part of all mass-vaccination campaigns and we expect to see a small number of them."0 [3 R/ o G, m6 m- q
) B7 h! ]8 @: y1 IMore serious reactions can include life-threatening illnesses, hospitalizations, disabilities or deaths.8 |2 D; `6 O# A3 t/ n% ?
4 i3 k. X' t- Y; h. ^- KOne person is believed to have died from a serious reaction to the vaccine, Butler-Jones said, but the death hasn't yet been conclusively linked to the flu shot. He said it's possible the elderly person who died suffered from an underlying condition.
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" m$ b/ g' p u& b+ @All the serious side effects came after shots of the adjuvanted vaccine, which contains a compound to boost the vaccine's potency. Butler-Jones said that's likely because the vast majority of people being vaccinated are getting the adjuvanted vaccine.( W/ z+ T5 d& i2 z
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A version of the vaccine without the booster is being held for pregnant women.
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Butler-Jones said the serious side effects from the H1N1 shot fall into two categories: allergic reactions, or fevers and convulsions.
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Mild effects, such as nausea, soreness, headaches and fever, are far more common reactions to the swine-flu shot - just as they are for all vaccines.# O6 f, j4 Q7 b5 N- w
: |- L7 o' f* S1 `, s, G/ RThe federal government says it will list adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine on its www.fightflu.ca website.1 ~ n! W+ _; @) C, N6 `5 g! t$ h) M
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So far, 198 people have died of swine flu. By comparison, seasonal flu kills between 4,000 to 8,000 Canadians each year. |
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