Once public health officials start their mass swine flu vaccination campaigns in October, they'll be bracing for a deluge of complaints about adverse events--most of which won't have anything to do with the vaccine.
"We are going to be overwhelmed with potential events," said Mike Osterholm, a public health expert at the University of Minnesota. "Anything that happens to anybody in the period of seven to 14 days after vaccination will be reported."
There's nothing new about jittery nerves and vaccines. Past incidents of serious adverse events following a vaccination has fueled fears that this new flu vax could trigger unexpected physical harm, even death. And those qualms are likely to prompt thousands of people to link any heart attacks, miscarriages or strokes that follow an inoculation to the vaccine. Sorting the myriad of reports in an attempt to unveil any actual link will be a challenge.
- read the story from Reuters