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Virginia Health Officials Say Guillain-Barre Syndrome Million-To-One-Shot

November 12, 2009
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By Michael Pope

Health officials in Virginia are urging people to get the vaccination for swine flu despite growing concerns about side effects.

MSNBC is reporting that a 14-year-old Virginia male contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome after receiving the vaccination for swine flu. But doctors at the Virginia Department of Health caution that there is no known relationship between the vaccine and the syndrome.

The department has acknowledged that those who receive the H1N1 vaccine have a one in a million chance of developing Guillain-Barre Syndrome. But health officials also say that the risk of developing the disease is ten times less for those who receive the vaccination. And the risk of developing Guillain-Barre is much higher for those who develop swine flu.

The bottom line, according to the Virginia Department of Health, is that the risks of receiving the vaccine statistically outweigh the risks of not receiving it.

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