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Top doctor says very few adverse reactions to H1N1 vaccine
! i$ r2 r2 ]5 K3 _. Q( f(CP) – 6 hours ago
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\: k% e4 m5 c" SOTTAWA — The country's chief public health officer says few Canadians have suffered serious side effects from the swine-flu shot.# |, t" X) g+ L7 [: s. h
& ~7 @- ^5 v! Q6 L! O9 Q) Y8 XDr. 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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' j& U/ F- G" j, r7 @6 D5 ["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."
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More serious reactions can include life-threatening illnesses, hospitalizations, disabilities or deaths.7 E% d1 c( q5 W. t; D3 U
9 }6 }5 q: U6 [$ sOne 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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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., O6 i" x; c: [/ ^+ v: |! p
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A version of the vaccine without the booster is being held for pregnant women.* v1 y9 F- u7 W: u$ h6 F, }( Q
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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.; E9 R/ I6 z; f) X# D
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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.
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) u( l, i z* |2 SThe federal government says it will list adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine on its www.fightflu.ca website.8 l; Z H0 t% K
6 t9 i* }& d4 G3 @- ~9 WSo 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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