Kendall says vaccines are safe
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Updated: November 25, 2009 10:36 AM
Despite the rumours turning up on various web pages, Dr. Perry Kendall says flu vaccines are safe.
They have been monitored on an annual basis for many years, proving them to be safe, the provincial health officer says, adding he wouldn’t expect anything different from the H1N1 vaccine.
This vaccine was rolled out and tested within the five- or six-month standard timeframe, he adds, the same as other flu vaccines.
Kendall says the adjuvant compound that boosts the immune response to the vaccine has also been extensively tested.
“The vaccine is believed by Health Canada to be safe.”
Health Canada’s website at www.phac-aspc.gc.ca devotes a page to vaccine myths that states the potential risk for serious adverse events is low.
Health Canada also stated the small amount of thimerosal, a mercury-containing organic compound used as a preservative in the vaccine, is very small and hasn’t been shown to cause any harm.
Serious side-effects from getting the vaccine affect about one for every 100,000 recipients, according to Health Canada.
Dr. Kendall says there have been some anaphylactic or allergic reactions to the vaccine, resulting in hives or itching, including two in Kamloops, and provincial authorities continue to monitor reactions.
Meanwhile, the majority of people infected with the virus have mild or moderate symptoms and recover; but for the week ending
Nov. 3, there were
183 new severe cases of the pandemic virus and three deaths in
British Columbia.
Interior Health reported there have been 86 severe cases since April, including three deaths.
