2 Died of H1N1 Flu Shots in China
After death of a 14-year old Natalie Morton of Coventry, Northern England in UK, allegedly because of Cervarix breast cancer vaccine, the world faces the issue on suspected deaths on H1N1 flu shots in China. Chinese Health Ministry reported on Friday two deaths after hours of receiving the swine flu vaccine. One teacher from Hunan province and another one, without details yet, died from their inoculations.
According to the preliminary autopsy, the teacher died from an apparent heart attack while playing basketball. It was a coincidental medical incident, said People’s Republic of China Health Ministry Spokesperson Deng Haihua; having ruled out link to allergic reaction to the vaccine. On the other hand, autopsy investigation is being conducted on the second death. And while this is being done, Chinese Health Officials pulled all vaccines of the same batch as the vaccine given to the teacher.
Although, the government assured the people that h1n1 vaccine is one of the safest, it is not really a 100% safe. It could cause adverse effects, including deaths. Of the 12 million vaccinated people, 1,235 complained of some h1n1 vaccine side effects namely anaphylactic shocks, headaches, rashes, sore arms and sudden drops on blood pressure.
China is among the countries that have taken aggressive response to the pandemic flu. It has been criticized for quarantining, cancelling school, and detaining all plane passengers even if there’s only one passenger appearing to have the symptoms. As a result though, there are only 36 reported swine flu deaths in China and 62,800 cases compared to 4,000 deaths and 22,000 infections in the U.S. The Chinese healthcare workers in hospital uniforms must be luckier than other this time. This approach also made China measures in developing swine flu vaccines in its own backyard.
Of the 11 biotech companies the government asked to develop the vaccine, the Beijing-based Sinovac was able to produce the first approved flu shot. Chinese government ordered 34 million doses of swine flu vaccines from different developers, including Sinovac. By the end of October, 54% of the vaccinated complained of side effects.