News from Down Under....

[Guest guest]

Notice that this is a story about vaccines gone bad but the ads go on.

At the beginning of the story there is an ad for flu shots from  Walgreens. At

the end is one from CVS.

 

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/flu-vaccination-ban-goes-national-after-fever-\

convulsions-in-children-20100423-tglp.html?from=age_ft

Flu vaccination ban goes national after fever, convulsions in children

Thomson

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www.Walgreens.com/flu

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Doctors are being advised to stop giving the flu vaccine to children.

Seasonal flu vaccinations across Australia for children under five have been

suspended after 23 children in Western Australia were admitted to hospital with

convulsions following their injections.

One child, aged 1, remains in a coma in a Perth hospital.

Commonwealth chief health officer Professor Jim Bishop yesterday announced the

suspension while authorities urgently review data from around the country.

 

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WA's chief public health officer Tarun Weeramanthri has defended the response

time in closing down the state's juvenile flu vaccine program amid revelations

that children were presenting with convulsions more than two weeks ago.

Rogue batch may be to blame

National warning to GPs

Perth mum: 'I was petrified'

WA free vaccine program suspended

More than 60 children around the state may have had adverse reactions to the

vaccine, including fevers, vomiting and febrile convulsions - a type of fit

brought on by a high fever.

One child remains in a critical condition in hospital after being given the

vaccine. Dr Weeramanthri said he had few details on the child's condition but

they were " seriously ill " .

He said a national process set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration had been

observed in responding to the reactions. Under the process the best clinical

information was collected from as many doctors as possible and an assessment

made on the " totality of that " .

" We take all reports very seriously and we believe we've acted in a very timely

fashion, " Dr Weeramanthri said.

" We've been monitoring the situation, we've been talking to clinicians and we've

acted as soon as we can. "

He said that since this year's vaccine program started a month ago, 23 children

under the age of 10 had presented to Princess Margaret Hospital with convulsions

related to vaccinations they had received less than 12 hours before.

Another 40 convulsion cases had been detected in the past month in children at

other metropolitan hospitals and in Bunbury. Doctors are now working to

determine how many of those children received the flu vaccine.

Aside from the convulsions, affected children were suffering fever and vomiting

within 12 hours of their flu shots.

A teleconference today with state, territory and TGA officials confirmed the

picture in other states would not be available for " a few days " .

Dr Weeramanthri said the TGA was assessing the geographical spread of symptoms

across Australia, and directly testing batches of vaccine for any impurity.

Rogue batch may be to blame

Health authorities are also working to determine if the entire Fluvax drug, or

just batches, have caused the symptoms, and whether an alternative vaccine

should be used.

University of Western Australia school of Paediatrics and Child Health Associate

Professor Richmond said that only Fluvax - produced by Australia's biggest

biopharmaceutical company CSL - was being used to vaccinate children in WA.

Dr Richmond said researchers were trying to determine whether it was the entire

vaccine, or just batches, that had caused the problems which today prompted

Australia's chief medical officer to tell doctors to stop giving the vaccine to

children.

He said the side effects had been largely limited to children under the age of

five and he would not recommend that anybody in other groups - including elderly

people - cancel their flu shots.

" This is not a long-term safety issue with vaccines, " Dr Richmond told

WAtoday.com.au.

He recommended parents of young children who had received only the first of the

required two vaccination doses hold off on the second dose for now.

This was despite the fact children who had no side effects from their first dose

were unlikely to receive complications from their second.

Dr Richmond said the first dose provided partial protection against the flu

anyway.

He said researchers were examining whether an alternative drug to Fluvax could

be used for the second dose - generally scheduled for four weeks after the

first.

Researchers were also trying to determine if the problem with Fluvax was

temporary only - and whether the drug could still be used in coming weeks for

the second dose.

He stressed that the vast majority of children receiving Fluvax had suffered no

complications.

National warning to GPs

Commonwealth chief medical officer Jim Bishop issued a national warning to GPs

not to use the vaccine followed a decision last night by the WA government to

suspend the free vaccination program for children under five over concerns it

was causing high fevers and convulsions.

" We suggest doctors and health professionals vaccinating children don't use the

seasonal flu vaccine for the moment, until we can get the Therapeutic Goods

Administration (TGA) to investigate this in more detail, " Professor Bishop told

ABC TV.

He said the concerns stemmed from a significant rise in the number of children

developing a fever after receiving the vaccine.

" We need more information about what’s happened in WA, but also what we can

now find out from all the other states from their experience, " Professor Bishop

said.

" If this has been brought up as a possible side-effect of this drug, then we

ought to at least suspend its use until we know more. "

In light of the seasonal flu shot suspension, Professor Bishop suggested

children get vaccinated against swine flu instead, because that could be a

health risk this winter too.

He said there did not appear to be any side effects from the swine flu vaccine

Panvax.

" It is safe to have the swine flu vaccine, " Professor Bishop said.

" The TGA's assessment of clinical trials and the advice of its expert committees

is that Panvax is a safe, effective vaccine for prevention of the H1N1

influenza.

" It is expected that the dominant flu this winter season will be swine flu and

the specific Panvax vaccine is available free for all Australians. "

'I was petrified'

Perth mother of two Bea Flint said her 11-month-old boy Avery had a seizure

after receiving the first dose of the two-dose flu vaccination on Saturday.

Mrs Flint said that after the 9am vaccination she noticed Avery had a minor

temperature about 2pm. She treated him with Panadol and by Avery's 7pm bedtime

he seemed " OK " .

However, at 7.45pm, Avery started whimpering and moaning.

When Mrs Flint got to his cot the baby had vomited and was lying on his side

having a seizure.

" In the car driving to the hospital he was just whimpering, " she said.

" He couldn't cry - his head was hanging down in the car seat and he couldn't

move.

" I was petrified - it was one of the worst experiences of my life. "

By the time Avery arrived at St of God Hospital in Murdoch, he was burning

up with a fever of 39.5 degrees.

The doctor who treated Avery told Mrs Flint her baby was the fifth child with

similar symptoms admitted to the hospital that day.

WA vaccine program suspended

Health Minister Kim Hames last night advised of the state-wide suspension as a

precautionary measure.

He said the suspension came after a significant rise in the number of children

who had developed a high temperature after receiving the vaccine.

He said some children had gone into febrile convulsions, a fit caused by a high

fever, following the vaccinations.

Dr Hames said it was unclear if the fevers were related to the influenza

vaccination but the precautionary measure was the most responsible course of

action.

Fevers in most instances are treatable.

" People should give Paracetamol according to the instructions and tepid sponging

to keep the temperature down. " Dr Hames said.

" On rare occasions children can have a convulsion as the result of the high

temperature and sometimes that can be prolonged, which can be a risk to the

child. "

He said parents should not take children under the age of five to be vaccinated

against influenza until further notice.

- with The Age

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