ANALYSIS:There is no longer a need for controversial vaccine Pandemrix to be administered
UNOFFICIALLY, EXPERTS here acknowledge a probable link between the vaccine Pandemrix and a disease called narcolepsy.
While the official line from the Health Service Executive is that it continues to investigate a possible link, it is not unreasonable to assume that Ireland will eventually follow the lead of Finland and Sweden where studies have shown a six- to 13-fold increase in cases of narcolepsy among those immunised with the swine flu vaccine.
Unlike the annual seasonal influenza vaccine, which contains three strains of flu virus, Pandemrix was produced as a single flu strain vaccine in a bid to head off the potential impact of the swine flu (H1N1) pandemic virus in 2009 and 2010.
It was one of two vaccines given to “at-risk” groups of patients in Ireland. GPs here administered some 900,000 doses of Pandemrix during the period.
Because a strain of the swine flu virus is included in this year’s seasonal flu vaccine, there is no longer a need for Pandemrix to be administered. The HSE has asked doctors to return any supplies they may still have.
Nonetheless, it seems the one-off swine flu vaccine may have caused narcolepsy in a tiny minority of those who received the shot. A lobby group, Sound (Sufferers of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder), has been launched with the aim of helping parents identify if their children are affected and to seek support for those already diagnosed.
Narcolepsy is a debilitating neurological disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness, sometimes accompanied by muscle weakness. To date, the Irish Medicines Board has confirmed 16 cases of the disease in individuals vaccinated with Pandemrix.
It would be a pity if the concerns about Pandemrix were to impact negatively on the numbers availing of this year’s seasonal flu vaccine. The immunisation season is now in full swing in GPs’ surgeries. This year it will additionally target those aged over 50 as well as all pregnant women. Immunising expectant mothers has been national policy in other countries for some time and the indications are the three-strain flu vaccine, which is not a “live” vaccine, is very safe. It has been shown to reduce hospitalisation in pregnant women exposed to the flu.
In people with chronic underlying disease, especially those over 65, complications from flu are common and hospitalisation rates high. Currently available influenza vaccines provide 70-90 per cent protection against influenza in people less than 65-years-old. And while efficacy in older people is lower, the vaccine lessens the severity of flu and the likelihood of death from it.
The lessons of the MMR debacle are relevant. We are still seeing outbreaks of measles and mumps following the collapse of immunisation rates following the now discredited claims of a vaccine link with autism. The Pandemrix experience does not warrant a similar overreaction.