Health officials say A/H1N1 vaccine safe

Health officials in Beijing have again sought to reassure the public that the A/H1N1 vaccine is safe and effective. The public service announcement comes in response to rumors spread by overseas Web sites that the vaccination is the cause of rising A/H1N1 cases in the capital.

Mass vaccinations began in China at the end of October, but health officials say there is no link between the inoculations and the current up-tick in the number of cases.

Wu Jiang, Official of Beijing Disease Prevention & Control Center, said, "So far, more than 160 thousand people in Beijing have been inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine. There are only 210 cases of suspected adverse reaction. All the symptoms are slight, including some redness and swelling, and some patients developed a fever. But no one showed any serious adverse reactions."

Officials said the 1.2 cases of adverse reaction per thousand people shows that the domestically made vaccine is safe and dependable.

Students in primary and middle schools were among the first to receive the vaccination. Officials have told parents that fever is a normal reaction, and will be gone quickly.

Huang Hui, Vice Director of Dongcheng Disease Prevention & Control Center, said, "Fever is the temporary reaction of the body. It's usually gone in 48 hours. So parents need not worry about it, and no medication is needed. Only when the child's temperature is above 38.5 degrees should a fever reducer be used. "

Most parents have confidence in the vaccine, but it is not suitable for everyone. Before inoculation, doctors ask students whether they are allergic to anything.

Huang also said, "Currently, the incidence of the disease is high among students. So most parents have agreed to vaccinate their children. But taking safety into consideration, we are strictly selecting children for the vaccination who don't have various allergies. "

Those who have been injected with the vaccine also have to fill in a form with their address and phone number. Health departments will randomly call some of them after the vaccination.

Children under three and pregnant women are not allowed to receive the vaccination due to a lack of clinical data. Relevant departments are considering testing the two groups.