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Top doctor says very few adverse reactions to H1N1 vaccine
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' E* W& r! S" G3 b: 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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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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! I# d/ u, d v7 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."# W6 B; }' ?1 R- `3 Y) r
5 D ?/ c4 U5 u9 sMore serious reactions can include life-threatening illnesses, hospitalizations, disabilities or deaths.2 m9 W* F% ^( G& e1 J3 w
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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.- j" P4 k1 s4 k# V
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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., u- U6 @6 E$ C# P( J
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A version of the vaccine without the booster is being held for pregnant women.
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3 M/ B9 k7 z, E) v5 X2 }- AButler-Jones said the serious side effects from the H1N1 shot fall into two categories: allergic reactions, or fevers and convulsions.5 E' q- ?7 p5 z( }+ Y' O& b
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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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% W, M0 u$ i( R) X- g) y4 eThe federal government says it will list adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine on its www.fightflu.ca website.' A" X8 }4 T8 @2 M$ B( G/ A1 _ Y
/ ?2 y4 C; ?7 y" OSo 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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