Singapore resumes use of flu vaccines linked to South Korea deaths

Name: As world hunts for coronavirus vaccine, a look back at eggs used to fight the ‘big sneeze’ in 1956
Uploaded: 2020-11-02T04:51:58.000Z
Duration: 1 min 56 s
Description: As world hunts for coronavirus vaccine, a look back at eggs used to fight the ‘big sneeze’ in 1956

The Health Ministry said the likelihood of a causal link between the vaccinations and the deaths reported was determined to be low

A temporary stop was put on the use of SKYCellflu Quadrivalent and VaxigripTetra after a spate of deaths linked to flu shots in South Korea

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A man gets an influenza vaccine at a branch of the Korea Association of Health Promotion in Seoul on October 23. Photo: Reuters

TODAYin Singapore

Published: 12:51pm, 2 Nov 2020Updated: 1:04pm, 2 Nov 2020

Health care providers and medical practitioners in Singapore have been given the green light to resume the use of two influenza vaccines that were among those linked to a spate of recent deaths in South Korea.

The city state’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that SKYCellflu Quadrivalent and VaxigripTetra have been assessed to be safe for use following a “thorough review of the information” from South Korean health authorities as well as Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority.

An advisory issued the previous Sunday had instructed medical practitioners to temporarily cease the use of the two vaccines, which were among seven brands linked to the South Korean deaths.

In its statement on Saturday, the ministry said the likelihood of a causal link between the vaccinations and the deaths reported was determined to be low, based on information released by South Korean health authorities on Thursday.

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As world hunts for coronavirus vaccine, a look back at eggs used to fight the ‘big sneeze’ in 1956

They found that 71 of the deaths were highly likely to have been caused by underlying diseases and that no vaccine from any particular manufacturer was associated with higher rates of reported deaths than the others, said the ministry.

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