Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 March 2012
580 Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if he has been notified of any side effects resulting from a swine flu vaccine (details supplied); if so, the number of cases there are thought to be in the country; and the steps, if any, that have been taken to date to investigate this matter. [12710/12]
View answerAny possible adverse reaction to a medication should be reported to the Irish Medicines Board. To date, the IMB has received 33 reports relating to the vaccine which the Deputy is referring to which included reactions affecting the eyes or vision. These were mainly transient reactions such as swelling of the eye and blurred vision.
During the 2009/10 H1N1 Pandemic, the European Medicines Agency specifically reviewed reports of eye related disorders and concluded that there was no evidence of any direct adverse effect on the eyes or vision in relation to the H1N1 vaccines. If the Deputy's constituent is still concerned then they should seek the advice of their General Practitioner who may liaise further with the Irish Medicines Board, if necessary.
