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Top doctor says very few adverse reactions to H1N1 vaccine
% u$ i9 c& G- H# z(CP) – 6 hours ago+ i/ F1 c. L" F8 M( q
4 Q4 ?0 E! E) `/ e) `4 ]OTTAWA — The country's chief public health officer says few Canadians have suffered serious side effects from the swine-flu shot.$ s+ \ c- E5 t3 R1 ~3 I
& `7 n9 j' _' j1 \Dr. 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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& u) M6 h& V3 k* N"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."- L' ~. q# N) `9 r0 I5 y
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More serious reactions can include life-threatening illnesses, hospitalizations, disabilities or deaths., c M0 y( c7 r" l) i# _8 _
2 W$ q/ G9 l! DOne 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.: a* o' ^$ c* S, R. D
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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.% h6 O6 B# R% R w3 P5 `2 s
% [" _* d4 \7 @) U) lA 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.5 W+ H; d/ L% r$ a
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The federal government says it will list adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine on its www.fightflu.ca website.
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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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