National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

WHO: China's H1N1 vaccine safe, effective

By Shan Juan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-10-27 14:48

The WHO representative in China, Michael' Leary, said yesterday he'd like to get the A/H1N1 flu vaccine made by China as it had proven to be safe and effective.

Full Coverage:  A(H1N1) Flu Outbreak Related readings:  WHO: H1N1 vaccine production far less than forecast  Confirmed A/H1N1 cases increase to 116 in Yunnan  Mainland's H1N1 flu cases reach 10,000  Spike in cases signals busy season for H1N1  Tens of millions in China could get A(H1N1) flu

Starting in late September, China has so far vaccinated more than 300,000 people on the mainland against the A/H1N1 pandemic flu and is now gearing up the free vaccination program to be available nationwide.

"When it's available to me, I would not hesitate to get the vaccine developed and produced by China," O' Leary told China Daily today.

"The H1N1 vaccine is one of the safest vaccines being used," he said. "Serious adverse reactions would be extremely rare if at all and to date, from the data available, the vaccine is safe and effective."

However, he also pointed out that nothing is 100 percent safe, including the vaccine, and there is potential of bad side effects from the jab.

"Notably, nearly all of the adverse reactions from the shot detected so far were mild and temporary," he added.

Considering the risk of the vaccine against that of the diseases, the WHO highly recommends the vaccination.

As of Monday evening, China had reported 35,664 A/H1N1 cases, with three deaths.