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 AIFA on Thursday suspended two batches of the FLUAD vaccine made by
Switzerland's Novartis, saying three deaths potentially connected to
the drug had been reported.
The suspension sparked widespread alarm in Italy, and 16 more deaths
have been reported among people who had used the vaccine. However
experts expressed scepticism that the deaths were linked to the drug
and health authorities urged people to continue to vaccinate
themselves.
"The results of the tests confirm the safety of the anti-flu
vaccine," AIFA said in a joint statement issued with the health
ministry. The tests on the suspended batches were "completely
negative".
It said reports of deaths linked to the vaccine presented by doctors
or relatives should therefore be attributed to the heightened media
attention on the issue, not to the drug.
The statement noted that around 8,000 Italians die of flu every year
and it urged people not to stop vaccinating, especially those over
the age of 65.
Novartis said last week that more than 7 million doses of FLUAD had
been distributed this year worldwide and no unusual frequency of
adverse effects had been reported.
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AIFA did not indicate whether it now planned to release the two
batches of FLUAD it had suspended.
(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Pravin
Char)
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