Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., November 29, 2009 Kislev 12, 5770 | | Israel Time: 01:13 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Nazareth toddler third Israeli to die after receiving swine flu vaccination
By Dan Even, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Nazareth, swine flu 

A toddler from Nazareth died Thursday at home, three days after receiving a swine flu vaccination at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

The two-year-old, who had a pacemaker and had been undergoing weekly dialysis at Rambam, had been inoculated in the pediatric nephrology department where she was being treated.

However the vaccine was allegedly given against Health Ministry regulations, which permit only children over the age of 3 to receive the shots currently available in Israel.
Advertisement
The vaccines now being given in Israel contain adjuvant, which helps improve the immune system. However, this component has not been proven safe for children under 3 and pregnant women, therefore Israel and some other countries, Canada, for example, are not inoculating these groups with vaccines containing adjuvent. Vaccines without this component are to arrive in Israel starting next week.

An autopsy performed Thursday at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv revealed that the toddler died of complications from her kidney condition, not from the vaccine. The institute said the results of additional tests would be ready in about a week.

The Health Ministry said that more than 65 million people have been inoculated worldwide without incident, including many children, and that the vaccine meets all standards of safety and efficiency and is recommended by the World Health Organization.

Rambam Medical Center released the following statement: "Although there is apparently no connection between the toddler's death and the inoculation, the hospital director instructed that immediate clarification be undertaken of the events in the days preceding her death. We all hope that the autopsy will help clarify the reasons for her death."

This is the third death following inoculation against swine flu in Israel. The first, soon after the inoculations started, was a 75-year-old Bat Yam dialysis patient who died three days after receiving the shot in the hospital. At the beginning of this week, a 57-year-old dialysis patient died at Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva, two weeks after receiving the vaccine.

Out of some 10,000 Israelis who have so far been vaccinated, the Health Ministry said this week that there have been 43 reported cases of side effects from the inoculation, including several cases involving swelling and redness around the site of the shot, respiratory distress, allergies and headaches; one patient complained of limited hand movement.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Hezbollah heads divided
Militants slam civilian leaders amid fears of IDF attack.
Israel-Iran war?
Israel must prepare for the chance that if it strikes Iran, not all of the pilots will return.
  1.   3 dialysis patients die 10:58  |  observer 27/11/09
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Award-Winning 'Obsession'
Watch 'Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West' Online FOR FREE!
Protea Hills
A Retirement Village in Nature Nestled in the Foothills of Jerusalem
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
00:00 Likudniks blast 'enemy of the Jews' Obama over settlement freeze
00:21 2,000 protest Haredi religious coercion in Jerusalem
21:21 Top Iran lawmaker: We could leave the NPT
21:43 Shalit deal / What would Israel do if Iran captured an IAF pilot?
16:30 Report: Security beefed up at Gaza-Egypt border ahead of Shalit transfer
21:23 Hezbollah leadership split amid fears of fresh IDF attack
15:07 IN PICTURES / Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha
00:24 TV ROUND-UP: Israel: Peace talks may lead to settlement evacuation; Grant's first Portsmouth match
21:27 Tourism Min. pledges to keep developing West Bank sites, despite freeze
17:56 Security officer for IDF General Staff suspected of attempted rape
22:27 Shas to fight bill that would help find women draft dodgers
12:12 Hugo Chavez: Israel plans to 'terminate the Palestinian people'
11:21 Muslim pilgrim dies of swine flu during annual haj
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved