16 Sep 2010
A Summary Report on the Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Human Swine Influenza (HSI) Immunisation (AEFI) and Expert Group’s Comment on the Safety of HSI Vaccine in Hong Kong has been uploaded to the Centre of Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health website today (September 16).
From the vantage point of September 2010, a great amount of scientific information is now available on the safety of HSI vaccines compared with the start of the vaccination programme in December 2009.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of June 2010, more than 570 million doses of HSI vaccines were distributed and over 350 million doses administered around the world.
HSI vaccine matches the excellent safety profile of seasonal influenza vaccines which have been used for more than 60 years.? The risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) so far observed, if any, is no greater than that which has been reported previously for seasonal influenza vaccine, the report said.
The safety profile on pregnant women is reassuring. Surveillance reports from overseas health authorities also supported the safety of HSI vaccines.
Following detailed analysis (such as literature review as well as overseas and local experience) of local reports of AEFI, the Expert Group concluded that a causal relationship between HSI vaccination and serious AEFI including GBS, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and intrauterine deaths could not be established.
The full report in English can be accessed at http://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/hsi_vaccine_aefi_report_en.pdf . An executive summary in Chinese is also available at http://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/hsi_vaccine_aefi_report_tc.pdf .