There is a small risk of getting a paralytic illness after getting the flu shot, but that risk is higher if you actually get the flu according to a new study. Most Canadians can get a vaccination against the current strain of influenza each year. But some are afraid to because of the risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome or GBS.
GBS attacks the nerves and can be fatal. It is a progressive paralysis that starts at the feet and works its way up the body in the same way as polio. It can be reversed.
GBS occurs in one of every million people who get a flu shot. But in people who were actually treated for flu in hospital this study found that one in 60,000 people got GBS. That means those who got the flu were 16 time more likely to get GBS than were those who got the vaccine.
“There’s been a lot of negative press about flu shots lately saying they don’t work,” said Dr. Jeff Kwong, scientist at the Toronto Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and lead author of the study. “They’re not 100 per cent effective that’s for sure but I think they’re the best think that we’ve got and given that they’re safe I think it’s a good idea that people get them because flu shots still prevent hospitalizations and death.”
About 700 people get GBS in Canada each year and only a small proportion of them were linked with the vaccination. About 10 million Canadians get a flu shot each year. Eight million get the flu. The flu carries other risks which are fatal to between 4,000 and 8,000 people each year.
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