A swine flu vaccine which has been given to thousands of children in Britain may cause the sleep disorder narcolepsy.Symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness and nodding off suddenly without warning.
All packets of the vaccine Pandemrix will have to carry a warning about the risk following a ruling by the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The EMA, which is currently investigating the effects of the vaccine, has also told doctors to weigh up the potential risks before injecting children against the deadly H1N1 virus.
There have been seven reported cases of narcolepsy in the UK linked to the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine – four of them children.
The condition can also cause temporary muscle paralysis, hallucinations and problems concentrating.
Caroline Hadfield, of Frome, Somerset, believes her five-year-old son Joshua contracted narcolepsy after being vaccinated with Pandemrix last January.
Within weeks of having the jab, Joshua began sleeping 18 hours a day and Mrs Hadfield says his personality completely changed.
Mrs Hadfield, 40, said: ‘I believe this link will eventually be confirmed. I’m very angry about it.
‘I researched the vaccine carefully before agreeing to let Joshua have it and thought I was protecting him. Now he’s saddled with this for life.
‘There should have been more testing before it was rolled out and it should have been destroyed at the first suggestion of any problems.’ Read More
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