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Adverse reactions

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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Adverse reactions

  • pain, swelling or redness at the injection site, low grade fever, malaise, shivering, fatigue, headache, myalgia and arthralgia are among the commonly reported symptoms after intramuscular or intradermal vaccination

  • a small painless nodule (induration) may also form at the injection site - these symptoms usually disappear within one to two days without treatment

  • nasal congestion/ rhinorrhoea, reduced appetite, weakness and headache are common adverse reaction following administration of LAIV

  • immediate reactions can occur
    • such as urticaria, angio-oedema, bronchospasm and anaphylaxis

The following adverse events have been reported very rarely after influenza vaccination over the past 30 years but no causal association has been established:

  • neuralgia, paraesthesia, convulsions and transient thrombocytopenia, vasculitis with transient renal involvement and neurological disorders such as encephalomyelitis (1)

Guillain-Barre syndrome as a result of vaccination against influenza is rare - about one case per million people inoculated (2).

Reference:

  • (1) The Green Book. Chapter 19 - Influenza (April 2019)
  • (2) NEJM 1998; 339: 1797-1802.

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