People with egg allergy face vaccine dilemma

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OTTAWA – An H1N1 vaccine available in Britain for people suffering from severe egg allergies will not be used in Canada because it has not received regulatory approval, leaving thousands of Canadians without a second option for vaccinations.

The Public Health Agency said Monday that it has not considered purchasing the second type of vaccine produced by Baxter International which is cell-based and safer for people with egg allergies.

Most swine flu doses in Canada were purchased from pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, which produces the vaccine by growing the influenza virus in a chicken egg.

“The primary interest for Canada is to have a secure supply of safe, effective vaccine available to meet its domestic needs,” said agency spokeswoman Nadia Mostafa in an e-mail. “While we are aware of the small proportion of Canadians that are allergic to eggs, many of them may not have a reaction to an egg-based vaccine, particularly one that contains such a minimal amount of egg protein.”

The agency recommends that those with a minor allergy should consult their physician about their options. Those with “hypersensitivity” should not take the vaccine at all.

 “Also, people with egg allergies will be somewhat protected from catching H1N1 flu virus by those around them getting immunized,” said Mostafa.

 But Heather Chew of Ottawa said it was a “serious oversight” for the government not to purchase the non-egg vaccine when those who suffer from egg allergies commonly also have asthma, putting them in one of the high-risk groups for vaccinations.

She said she’s even considered flying her four-year-old son Carter and six-year-old daughter Lauren to England for their shots. Both have egg allergies, while her son has severe asthma.

 “I worry about injecting my kids with an egg-based product. I’ve seen what happens to them. They vomit within 10 minutes or they curl up in a fetal position with a tummy ache and go into anaphylactic shock,” she said. “I’m very anxious.”

 Meanwhile, Chew said she has stocked up on Tamiflu, the treatment for H1N1, and is taking precautions, including keeping her son home from school if he’s feeling ill and not attending a recent Halloween party.

 A spokesman with the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology said it is “probably too late” for public health officials to obtain the non-egg vaccine this year.

 “It would’ve made life a whole lot easier if it were available, but it’s not,” said Dr. Charles Frankish. “A high-risk individual with a serious egg allergy should be fine getting the vaccine if they are monitored for at least an hour by a medical professional so if they have a reaction, there is adrenaline and someone who can treat them. Low risk people should just talk to their allergists.”

Dr. Antony Ham Pong, an allergist, said his Ottawa clinic will soon be one of the few that will oversee H1N1 vaccinations for egg-allergy patients.
 
He said those with the allergy may be able to take the vaccine in multiple small doses over a two-hour period while health staff monitor the vaccinations and assist if a severe reaction occurs. According to Ham Pong, there are an estimated 30,000 Canadians suffering from an egg allergy.

“The risk of getting a severe reaction is not very high but it is present,” he said. “It’s very rare but outside of Canada, there have been cases of people dying from the egg vaccine.”

Ham Pong said he hopes the clinic will open by this weekend, but that is contingent on whether doses of the H1N1 vaccine will be still be available.

He said he has 500 patients with egg allergies, and 150 people have already been put on a waiting list for the clinic.

Meanwhile, allergist Dr. Harsha Dehejia of Ottawa said the risk associated with distributing the vaccine to patients in his clinic is too high. Instead, he is keeping a list of those interested in the vaccine and will notify them when he finds out about other options by public health officials.

 “The symptoms of a severe reaction are very clear. Closure of the throat, difficulty breathing, abdominal pain and collapse. Theoretically you’re looking at death. It’s not just a minor inconvenience,” he said. “I’m telling patients to wait and see what comes up. They need to take the vaccine in a hospital setting where emergency equipment is available. I won’t do it.”

 Dehejia said his advice to patients is not to take the H1N1 vaccine unless they belong to one of the high-risk groups.

“There are a lot of people who are not taking H1N1. I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said.

 Calgary resident Arlene Kawchuk said she’s frustrated with the lack of options for people like her who can’t even come in contact with eggs.

“I hear that every Canadian should protect themselves, that there is a dose for every Canadian, but that’s bull,” she said. “I want the option just like everybody else. If I decide it’s a real danger, I want to know that I can take it. I don’t think that’s asking too much.”

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

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