By PHRED DVORAK and BETSY MCKAY
OCTOBER 7, 2009
Source: http://tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www?post=113544&ord=1543474#1543474 TORONTO -- An unpublished Canadian study that suggests getting an annual flu shot may make it easier to contract swine flu has caused most provincial governments in Canada to postpone or limit seasonal-flu vaccination programs.
The study remains a mystery in many ways. It is being reviewed for potential publication in a scientific journal, but the authors won't say which one. Few people have seen the data, and some experts have expressed skepticism of the results.
The study is co-authored by researchers from the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion and Laval University in Quebec.
The World Health Organization isn't recommending that seasonal-flu vaccinations be postponed. Public-health officials in the U.S., Australia and other countries said their own data doesn't show such links between seasonal-flu-shot recipients and people who have gotten the new flu strain, known as the 2009 H1N1 flu.
Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a recent news conference that there was no "real explanation technically or scientifically" for an association between the two.
Local governments are taking no chances. Twelve of Canada's 13 provinces and territories are delaying the rollout of seasonal-flu shots for the bulk of their populations until after their H1N1 inoculations are complete -- likely at the end of this year.
The study "wasn't something we felt we could ignore," said Perry Kendall, provincial health officer for British Columbia, which like most provinces is limiting seasonal-flu shots to people ages 65 and older until after it has finished its H1N1 vaccinations. "Why would you want to run the risk of doubling peoples' risk of getting H1N1?" said Dr. Kendall, who noted that he has seen the data and talked to the study's authors.
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Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125487330214569325.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories 
