Accra, July 29, GNA - Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, Minister of Health, has indicated that the Ministry has not received any reports of deaths as a result of the ongoing H1N1 vaccinations.

Dr Kunbuor, was in parliament on Wednesday to answer a question on the side effects of the vaccine on people being administered with the drug

He said "any one with scientifically verifiable facts that the vaccine has caused the death of any person should come forward", saying that, the vaccine is safe and the side effects can be managed.

"I am prepared to take anybody on the issue of the vaccine resulting in death of anyone," he said.

He said there were rumours from the Eastern region that a pregnant lady had died after using the vaccine but it was not true.

Dr Kunbuor later told newsmen that "Studies indicate that the H1N1

vaccines were safe as seasonal flu vaccines."

He however said there were side effects, which were generally referred

to as Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI).

He noted that the AEFI include local reactions such as soreness and

swelling at the injection site and that less often, it could cause fever, muscle

or joint aches or headache.

"These symptoms are generally mild; do not need medical attention and

lasts for a day or two," he noted.

Dr Kunbuor said on rare occasions, the vaccine can cause allergic

reactions such as rashes, rapid swelling of deeper skin layers and tissues

and asthma.

The Minister said due to the limited quantities of the vaccines, only 10

percent of the population would be vaccinated.

These the Minister said included, health workers, pregnant women as

well as others with medical conditions associated with the high risk of

developing complications of H1N1 infection.

Other people belonging to the group he said were Asthmatics Diabetics,

Chronic and Heart diseases, sickle cell diseases, chronic lever and kidney

diseases among others.

Dr Kunbuor indicated that the last group of people considered for the

vaccination were medical personnel, who were also exposed to similar risks

as other health care providers.

He explained that, after vaccinating the targeted groups, the remaining vaccines would be used on the general public.

Dr Kunbuor said national, regional and district health supervisors and

those involved in the vaccination exercise, have undergone training, for

effective and smooth implementation of the programme.

He stated that AEFI was being monitored through a system called Post

Marketing Surveillance and Pharmaco-vigilance, where all reported AEFI is

captured and investigated throughout the regions and districts.

"Emergency drugs for AEFI are available at each health facility or

vaccination post and all reported cases requiring medical attention are

being managed," he said.

He said both expected and unusual AEFI were being reported to the WHO

and informed decisions would be made based on the seriousness of such

events in consultation with the WHO.

Dr Kunbuor said Senior Health Managers of the Ghana Health Service and

officials from the Food and Drugs Board and the WHO has met in Kumasi to

review the exercise and plan the way forward.

He said concerns raised at that meeting included the issue of the rush for the vaccine by people who were not in the priority group, which does not auger well for an effective roll out education plan for the general public.

"We are still monitoring the situation for a fuller picture but taking cognizance of the media and public concerns expressed, we are instructing all health staff involved in the vaccination to follow strictly the inclusion and exclusion criteria and procedures before and after vaccination," he stated.

He said those eligible for the vaccination include, pregnant women in

their second and third trimester, people with chronic conditions such as

asthma, diabetes and sickle cell diseases, among others and that they

should be between the ages of 18 and 60.

Dr K. O. Antwi Agyei, Manager, National Immunization Programme, said

the vaccine is administered once and that the exercise is expected to end in August 2010.

The vaccine is manufactured by Glaxosmith kline company from Belgium,

a WHO pre-qualified company and one dose cost 7 dollars each.