[glennm]

I was planning to get my annual flu shot last week, but stopped when I found out two neighbors contracted Gullian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) within last two weeks. One DIED, the other was sent to ICU and is now in 6 months of Rehab to repair the sheath protecting the nerves. Side effect (GBS) destroys myelin sheath covering protecting the nerves.
My Humana nurse said she has seen this only twice in ten years; however, I have seen it twice in The Villages in one week.
The flu shot is produced by several different pharmaceutical companies. Is there a particular strain which is more deadly than others this year?
Seniors are recommended to get the "high-dose" version. Is that the one causing the side effect?
Is anyone else familiar with a friend or family member contracting this serious side effect this year?

[Bogie Shooter]

From the CDC web site


What is Guillain-Barr� syndrome (GBS)?

Guillain-Barr� syndrome (GBS) is a rare disorder in which a person�s own immune system damages their nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. GBS can cause symptoms that usually last for a few weeks. Most people recover fully from GBS, but some people have long-term nerve damage. In very rare cases, people have died of GBS, usually from difficulty breathing. In the United States, for example, an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS each year on average, whether or not they received a vaccination.

What causes GBS?

Many things can cause GBS; about two-thirds of people who develop GBS symptoms do so several days or weeks after they have been sick with diarrhea or a respiratory illness. Infection with the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common risk factors for GBS. People also can develop GBS after having the flu or other infections (such as cytomegalovirus and Epstein Barr virus). On very rare occasions, they may develop GBS in the days or weeks after getting a vaccination.

Who is at risk for developing GBS?

Anyone can develop GBS; however, it is more common among older adults. The incidence of GBS increases with age, and people older than 50 years are at greatest risk for developing GBS.


How common is GBS? How common is it among people who have been vaccinated against flu?

GBS is rare. Medical events occur regardless of vaccination, and background rates are used to assess vaccine safety by comparing the expected rate of disease or death to the actual or observed rate in any given timeframe. The background rate for GBS in the U.S. is about 80 to 160 cases of GBS each week, regardless of vaccination.

What happened in 1976 with GBS and the swine flu vaccine?

In 1976 there was a small increased risk of GBS following vaccination with an influenza vaccine made to protect against a swine flu virus. The increased risk was approximately 1 additional case of GBS per 100,000 people who got the swine flu vaccine. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) conducted a thorough scientific review of this issue in 2003 and concluded that people who received the 1976 swine influenza vaccine had an increased risk for developing GBS. Scientists have multiple theories on why this increased risk may have occurred, but the exact reason for this association remains unknown.

The link between GBS and flu vaccination in other years is unclear, and if there is any risk for GBS after seasonal flu vaccines it is very small, about one in a million. Studies suggest that it is more likely that a person will get GBS after getting the flu than after vaccination. It is important to keep in mind that severe illness and death are associated with influenza, and vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza infection and its complications.

How do public health authorities investigate cases of GBS?

Ensuring the safety of vaccines is a high priority for CDC. Several systems are in place to monitor vaccine safety. One of these systems is the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) co-manage VAERS, which serves as an early warning system to collect voluntary reports about possible side effects that people experience following vaccinations. CDC and FDA scientists regularly review all VAERS reports and store the information in a computerized database that is monitored to detect new, unusual, or rare health events that could be possible side effects of vaccines.

In addition to the normal vaccine safety monitoring systems, CDC has proactively put additional monitoring systems in place to ensure safety after licensing. Some of these systems include: actively observing persons in defined geographic areas, collaborating with professional organizations for reports of any adverse events after vaccination, and conducting thorough investigations when severe adverse events occur to determine whether they may have been associated with the vaccine. Through these numerous approaches, we are able to detect any possible risk of GBS that might be associated with the 2015-2016 flu vaccines as early as possible and take appropriate action.

[Nucky]

I get the shot every year. It got me really sick this year. This has never happened to me before. Flu wise I felt like a shiny penny before the shot and within hours I had the flu. I Googled it & went to Web MD they say it can't happen that way...it did. Unbelievable what happened to the people in the story above. I guess I should listen to my wife and not get the flu shot. She always says that the side effects of the medicine advertised on TV is worse than the symptom it is supposed to help. God help those people with GBS.

[billethkid]

To each his own choices.

One might get sick by happenstance the same day as getting the flu shot. Is it the likely cause? Most likely not; no way to know for sure.

I prefer the favorable odds; that being over 99% are not affected by the shot.

If you get in your car and drive on the highway you are at more risk than getting a reaction from a flu shot. Yet, people do not give getting in the car and accepting the risks, a second thought.

Why is that?

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by MUHLBACH1@HOTMAIL.COM

I felt like a shiny penny before the shot

I'm sorry the flu shot made you ill, but I'm very impressed with the fact that you felt like a shiny penny!

I had the flu shot with no adverse effects whatsoever.

[debow]

Several years ago, I had a friend that shortly after having a flu shot was diagnosed with GBS. The Drs could not relate to the flu shot but many of his friends felt there was a relationship. He unfortunately was one the did not recover.

[Rango]

How many people die each year from influenza in the US? 36,000 die, 200,000 hospitalized.

[rexxfan]

Randomness is strange. Two cases in a short period of time in the same geographic area may seem decidedly un-random, but statistically speaking it still is. Small comfort, I realize.

For what its worth every flu shot I got in recent years came with a clear disclosure that GBS was a possibility (though unlikely). Even though my Dad got GBS back in the day, I still get the shot as I am particularly susceptible to nasty respiratory issues even from simple colds, let alone the flu. So, for me, the benefits of maybe not getting the flu outweigh the small risk of GBS. Weigh the costs and benefits and make your own personal decision. It's difficult to generalize.
--
bc

[justjim]

Originally Posted by glennm

I was planning to get my annual flu shot last week, but stopped when I found out two neighbors contracted Gullian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) within last two weeks. One DIED, the other was sent to ICU and is now in 6 months of Rehab to repair the sheath protecting the nerves. Side effect (GBS) destroys myelin sheath covering protecting the nerves.
My Humana nurse said she has seen this only twice in ten years; however, I have seen it twice in The Villages in one week.
The flu shot is produced by several different pharmaceutical companies. Is there a particular strain which is more deadly than others this year?
Seniors are recommended to get the "high-dose" version. Is that the one causing the side effect?
Is anyone else familiar with a friend or family member contracting this serious side effect this year?

We got our flu shot 10 days ago ---the "high-dose" and no problems so far. OP, I must admit your information is rather scary. We have a good friend who contracted GBS about five years ago---was in an induced coma for a couple of months and now has only about 40% breathing capacity. Oxygen is now necessary---prior to contracted GBS he was never sick a day in his life. He has always blamed it on the flu shot and will not ever take another one and tells everybody not to take the flu shot.

Botttom line the incidents regarding your neighbors I hope have been reported to some person or persons who will investigate Wheather the GBS was caused by this years flu shot. Thanks for posting this information.

Side effects such as GBS report to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088

[fred53]

Got my first hi-dose flu shot about a month ago....no issues.

GlennM...some perspective if I may...you put your life at a greater risk every time you get behind the wheel and drive. Take that same attitude towards your health. Do what you can to protect yourself, but there have never been guarantees. Get the shot or do not, but do not base that choice on the very high odds of being one of the very few who will react in a terrible way to it. That is a sign of irrational fear and if you let that guide your decisions you are doomed to a very unsatisfactory old age.

[rubicon]

Too often people know things before scientist finally make such determinations. I told a doctor in the 1980's that the mind and body spoke to one another and that stress caused little pac man types that created illness. he laughed but now we know that is true.

I had the high dose flu shot two years ago and ended up in the emergency room over night. the nurse told me i was the fourth person admitted who had a high dose.

It is possible that because of the improper mix of one batch, or perhaps because of the immune system of a person is compromised that flu shots can have bad effects for one person and not another.

I know that I will never take another high dose flu shot

[outlaw]

I did notice my arm hurt during and right after the flu shot this year. Immediately before the shot, I had no pain in my arm.

[NotGolfer]

I'm refusing the flu shot because of things I've read about it re: side effects...that said though I had the updated pneumonia shot. My arm around the site swelled up and hurt (more than sore) and the "lump" (it was hard) lasted for weeks.

In past years I had the flu shot...sometimes and sometimes not. Last year I had one and got the flu three times!!

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by rubicon

Too often people know things before scientist finally make such determinations. I told a doctor in the 1980's that the mind and body spoke to one another and that stress caused little pac man types that created illness. he laughed but now we know that is true.

I had the high dose flu shot two years ago and ended up in the emergency room over night. the nurse told me i was the fourth person admitted who had a high dose.

It is possible that because of the improper mix of one batch, or perhaps because of the immune system of a person is compromised that flu shots can have bad effects for one person and not another.

I know that I will never take another high dose flu shot

Rubicon, I had a bad reaction to the high dose flu shot two years ago also. I had signed up to get it at Miona Rec Center. Now I just get the normal flu shot, from Walgreens, and we go as soon as it is available to avoid the crowds. I like the fact that at Walgreens there is not a large group of people sequestered in one room as there were at Miona.

[NECHFalcon68]

Originally Posted by rubicon

It is possible that because of the improper mix of one batch, or perhaps because of the immune system of a person is compromised that flu shots can have bad effects for one person and not another.

Having been in the vaccine business, I can tell you that if there was an improper mix of one batch, it would be grounds for recall.

If enough adverse events are reported to the FDA, they will require an investigation and possible market action (recall) if warranted.

I had my shot yesterday (first one in about 20 years, because my doctor insisted on it) and felt no effects today. It was however, not the high dose...as I have not hit that magic age yet.

BTW, the flu strains to be cultivated for vaccines are decided in January by the CDC/FDA, 9 months before the season starts, so that the manufacturers will have enough time to fully culture and gear up for mass production. Unfortunately, it is a well-educated and professional guess for the strains, and the typical clinical trials may not be performed....and the process is a little more complex than what you saw with Dustin Hoffman in "Contagion"