After the announcement today that both flu shots – the seasonal flu shot and the one for H1N1 – would be available as of next week to British Columbians, I had a chat with one of the authors of that study that linked seasonal flu shots in Canada to a higher risk of coming down with H1N1, and she assured me that the data is indeed correct and valid, that is, in Canadian-based data, people who had a seasonal flu shot last year seemed to have a higher risk of coming down with H1N1 in last spring's outbreak.
On the other hand, these results have not been found in studies from any other country..
Overall, then, for those people at high risk of flu complications, even if this study has found a real link – that is, that a seasonal flu shot may raise your risk of developing H1N1 – it's still advisable, public health authorities agree, to get both shots.
Which is what I plan to do as soon as I can get in to a clinic.
- Foreign intelligence services are contracting out killings to gangs
- U.K. bans generic passwords over cybersecurity concerns. Should Canada be next?
- Small grocers, co-ops receiving boost from Loblaw boycott: ‘A lot of anger’
- Quebec woman wonders why she’s being asked to pay thousands for cancer medication
Comments