One Novartis flu vaccine cleared, one still waiting
The Italian authorities have declared a flu vaccine made by the Basel-based pharmaceutical firm, Novartis, to be safe after investigating a small number of deaths with possible connections to the jab. Italy had temporarily banned the vaccine last week.
A probe was being conducted into two batches of the vaccine, Fluad, after three people in Italy died after being administered it as a vaccination. Further similar incidents were reported as the news spread throughout the country.
On Monday, the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) said “the results of the tests confirm the safety of the flu vaccine”, adding that tests they had run had come back “completely negative”.
Fluad has been on the market since 1997. In a statement Novartis said, “worldwide, more than seven million doses of Fluad have been distributed. No unusual frequency of adverse events has been reported through the extensive pharmacovigilance system”.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Turin has also been investigating the Novartis-made flu vaccine, Agrippal. Whether these tests will continue was not known.
Italy had previously, in autumn 2012, banned the use of some Novartis-made flu vaccines, including Fluad, after white particles were found in the injections. Other countries, one of which was Switzerland, followed their lead.
After a few weeks however the drug was given the all-clear. The impurity had been found to be clumps of egg white – an ingredient in the vaccine.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.