19/09/2010

MILLIONS of people will be given a secret swine flu jab by health bosses this winter.

The H1N1 vaccine will be mixed into the regular flu jab for OAPs, pregnant women and others at high risk.

While millions refused to take the jab during last winter's pandemic, this time they will have no choice if they want to be protected against normal flu.

The Government was left with more than 30million swine flu vaccines after the pandemic fizzled out in 2010.

Some types of swine flu vaccinations are suspected of being linked to an increase in the rare condition narcolepsy, which causes sufferers to suddenly fall asleep at random times.

In Finland, one brand - Pandemrix, produced by GlaxoSmithKline - was banned, and officials in Sweden have started a Europe-wide investigation into it.

An NHS spokesman said that while the pandemic of the H1N1 swine flu virus was over, the disease was still a threat.

The Department of Health said the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority, which monitors vaccines, had given the H1N1 jab the all-clear after fears in Europe over the narcolepsy outbreak.

She added: "By March this year, that particular H1N1 vaccine had been given out 5.5million times and there have been no reported cases of narcolepsy in Britain."

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