Finland vows care for narcolepsy kids who had swine flu shot

[babsbunny]

http://news.yahoo.com/finland-vows-care-narcolepsy-kids-had-swine-flu-183019281.html

AFP – Wed, Oct 5, 2011

The Finnish government and major insurance companies announced Wednesday they will pay for lifetime medical care for children diagnosed with narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine.

"The compensation will provide much-needed financial assistance for the families, although it cannot take away the emotional distress caused by this condition," Social Services and Health Minister Paula Risikko said in a statement.

[pnwmom]

1. I didn't realize there was a new swine flu vaccine.

I wonder if it ever got approved here.


"In Finland, 79 children between the ages of four and 19 developed narcolepsy after receiving the Pandemrix vaccine in 2009 and 2010.
Of these cases, an unusually high number, 76, also suffered from bouts of cataplexy, suffering hallucinations or paralysing physical collapses, according to Finnish research."

[TheWraith]

4. No, it's not used here in the US. nt

[Chemisse]

2. That is admirable. Some countries would simply have denied any link.

It's fortunate we did not have this particular type of vaccination in the U.S.

[Lionessa]

3. Yep, we have a lot who do nothing but dis folks who have concerns

about the long term side effects of vaccines. I fear that US would be one of the countries that
would deny and sweep under the rug.

[TheWraith]

5. Mostly because those concerns are usually based on lies and pseudoscience.

And because once repeated they rarely leave the public eye even after being conclusively disproven. Like the "study" that showed a link between vaccines and autism: the doctor was shown to have completely fabricated the results, literally having committed mass fraud. But many people still believe there's a link.

[pnwmom]

6. I bet they would be reluctant to make the decision made in Finland.

Based on their reluctance to award damage to families of babies clearly harmed by the old DPT vaccine (which was finally replaced by a safer vaccine.)

[Chemisse]

7. If I lived in Finland I would have a lot of faith in the word of the government

after this. I think the concerns in this country about vaccines are born of distrust. If health officials switched from gushing reassurance to painstaking honesty, I think people would regain their appreciation for vaccines.

[WinkyDink]

8. The fact remains that there are many here who would have ridiculed Finnish families' concerns.