Vaccine Safety Monitoring Ensures Continued Safety, Part 3 of 3

October 28, 2010

By Claudia Vellozzi, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Director, Immunization Safety Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS

In my previous post, I discussed how CDC and FDA work with federal agencies, academic institutions, and health care organizations to study potential risks of adverse events after influenza vaccine. CDC and FDA are committed to communicating significant findings to the public as quickly as possible. During the 2009-10 influenza season, the safety of the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine was monitored through several systems, including Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), and preliminary data were shared publicly throughout the influenza season.

The results of a VAERS study were published in October 2010 in a medical journal, Vaccine. That study showed that more than 90% of the reports after 2009 H1N1 flu vaccination were non-serious (e.g. events that did not involve health consequences or hospitalization, such as a low-grade fever or muscle aches) and the serious reports were similar to reporting patterns for influenza vaccinations during previous influenza seasons.

Now that the 2010-11 influenza season has started, we are closely monitoring the safety of this season’s influenza vaccines. We expect the safety of this year’s flu vaccines to be similar to that of previous seasons’ flu vaccines, which have a strong safety record. If we detect any unexpected problems with the influenza vaccines we will communicate these findings and take action to protect the public.

Influenza vaccination is the best way to protect against influenza and its complications, and CDC and FDA are committed to ensuring the continued safety of these vaccines.

For more information, see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/vaccinesafety.htm