National Institute for Health and Welfare recommends discontinuation of Pandemrix vaccinations

The Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare recommends that the swine flu vaccination campaign with Pandemrix vaccine be discontinued until it has been found out why the incidence of narcolepsy among children and adolescents has increased. The recommendation is based on a proposal from the Finnish National Advisory Committee on Vaccines.  The Advisory Committee discussed the issue at its meeting on 24 August.

The discontinuation is a safety measure put in place until the matter has been examined sufficiently.  At the moment there is no swine flu epidemic in Finland, and therefore there is no immediate need for vaccinations.  Furthermore, major parts of the population are already protected against the swine flu virus either through vaccination or after having had the disease. In individual cases it can however be decided to use the vaccine, for instance for people travelling to a region where an epidemic is prevalent.

A number of reasons may be behind the estimated increase in the incidence of narcolepsy: the swine flu infection itself, vaccination, a compound effect of vaccination and infection, or some other factor. 

The view of the National Advisory Committee on Vaccines is that, in the light of international information, it appears unlikely that there would be a link between the Pandemrix vaccine and narcolepsy.  It is peculiar, however, that there have been observations only in Finland and Sweden, but not from any other country using the same vaccine.  More than 90 million doses of similar Pandemrix vaccine have been used in more than twenty countries.  At the moment there is a temporal association between the swine flu vaccinations and narcolepsy among adolescents in Finland, but no other link has been detected.

Minister of Health and Social Services Paula Risikko finds the proposed discontinuation of vaccinations as a measure that is justified.

"Special caution is needed until more information has been received on the matter. According to experts a link between the Pandemrix vaccine and narcolepsy is unlikely.  It is however important that this issue will be probed."

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health supports the recommendation of the National Institute for Health and Welfare and will follow closely how the investigation proceeds.