CDC: Pandemic vaccine safety record still matches seasonal vaccine

Nearly 5 months after its launch, the pandemic H1N1 vaccine still appears to have a safety profile similar to that of seasonal flu vaccines, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update yesterday.

Among those reports, 6% (636) were classified as “serious,” which are defined as life-threatening or resulting in death, major disability, abnormal conditions at birth, hospitalization, or extension of an existing hospitalization. The percentage of serious events for the pandemic vaccine is no different from that for the seasonal flu vaccine, the CDC said. No new or unusual adverse events or patterns of events have emerged, the CDC said in the safety update, which is now issued monthly rather than weekly.

Reports of 51 deaths were included in the 636 serious events, and the CDC said it will investigate those and all of the other serious events. However, it said a preliminary review of the deaths has found no patterns in age, gender, geographic location, illness status, or underlying medical conditions.

The VAERS system has received 103 reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare side effect of the flu and other infections that was linked to a swine flu vaccine used by the United States in 1976. So far the rate appears to be below the US background rate for GBS. The CDC said about 80 to 160 GBS cases occur each week, regardless of vaccination.

Much more via CIDRAP >> CDC: Pandemic vaccine safety record still matches seasonal vaccine.