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Top doctor says very few adverse reactions to H1N1 vaccine
' v8 W0 \) w9 @ p(CP) – 6 hours ago4 ]0 t& i& L. u7 f3 @, X
9 d, d' g( |/ W9 h- xOTTAWA — The country's chief public health officer says few Canadians have suffered serious side effects from the swine-flu shot.
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2 I' m. O. D4 JDr. 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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) x% Z; s C0 P( C* H5 O"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."% Q* z* i5 t( ~2 g' ]$ I
- j/ c% [6 z+ M( h$ L( {! rMore serious reactions can include life-threatening illnesses, hospitalizations, disabilities or deaths.4 y. u8 S" ~0 `4 n: C
8 H2 d- L# A) e" M8 {One 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.# a7 A3 J1 k) z- r7 P
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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.3 u1 y9 [& x" { e/ e( s; L
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A version of the vaccine without the booster is being held for pregnant women.
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/ L, s; F. c& `; y- |. E/ }% t9 KButler-Jones said the serious side effects from the H1N1 shot fall into two categories: allergic reactions, or fevers and convulsions.5 @( }* l: B# ?) R; w$ Q, I
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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.% c1 L+ t9 K) }1 q
+ A/ Z; y3 J# W, f0 }The federal government says it will list adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine on its www.fightflu.ca website.
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$ E% U- l9 P9 j6 O5 B$ u$ |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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