China Investigates Deaths After Swine Flu Shot
Chinese health officials reported on Nov. 13 the first deaths in people who received the H1N1 vaccine. The Ministry of Health announced that the two people, including a teacher from Hunan province, died hours after receiving their inoculations. Since September, when the ministry began its H1N1 immunization program, 12 million Chinese have received the pandemic flu shot.
A preliminary autopsy revealed that the teacher died of an apparent heart attack while playing basketball, and a ministry spokesperson told the China Daily newspaper that the death was a “coincidental medical incident” and not related to the vaccine. No details on the second victim have been released thus far.
As they conduct an autopsy investigation into the second death, Chinese health officials have pulled all vaccines that were manufactured in the same batch used to inoculate the teacher. Although the H1N1 vaccine has been rigorously tested and vetted for safety, no inoculation can be considered 100% safe, and some may cause adverse events, including death, in some people.
