More than 480 people have reported adverse reactions to the influenza vaccine as of Dec. 9, the most ever recorded in Taiwan, but health authorities have said there is no cause for concern.
From the launch of the government’s annual flu vaccination program on Oct. 5 to Dec. 9, 5.83 million flu vaccines were administered, with 485 people reporting an adverse reaction after taking the shot, or 8.3 people per 100,000 recipients, according to the latest data on adverse vaccine reactions released on Sunday by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
That was far higher than the 115 adverse events reported last year, the data showed.
Of this season’s reported cases, 138 were categorized as severe adverse events, up from only 22 cases a year earlier.
Sixteen people have died after developing severe symptoms following a flu vaccination during the same period compared with none the previous year, the data showed, but the FDA said the figures do not warrant concern.
After analyzing information related to the flu vaccines used in the 2020-2021 flu vaccination program — including vaccine brands, lot numbers and symptoms of adverse events — the FDA said it saw no sign of safety concerns, but would continue to monitor the situation.
Among the reported severe adverse events, three were suspected cases of acute myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart); seven of anaphylaxis (a serious allergic reaction); one of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (a disorder of the skin and mucous membranes); 11 of facial palsy; five of Guillain-Barre syndrome, which causes the immune system to attack the nerves; and nine of epilepsy and convulsions.
There were also cases of febrile seizures, spinal meningitis, encephalitis and rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle rapidly breaks down.
Pediatrician Chan Chien-chun (詹前俊) on Sunday said that they had encountered more people this year asking whether the vaccine was responsible for the fevers, headaches or body aches they experience after receiving a flu shot.
Most of the cases had nothing to do with flu vaccinations, Chan said, attributing the panic among flu vaccine recipients to the reports of more than 70 people in South Korea who died after taking a flu vaccine shot earlier this year.
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