Vaccine … 13 people have died from the Novartis flu vaccine in Italy. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied
THE number of people who have died in Italy after being administered a flu vaccine made by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has risen to 13.
The Italian Medical Agency (AIFA) has warned against panic and stressed there is not proof yet that it was the vaccine that led to the deaths.
It said it banned two batches of the product — called FLUAD — as a precautionary measure, pending further studies.
AIFA said the European Medical Agency would start examining the problem on Monday, and would report back on Thursday.
Investigation into reports of serious adverse events following use of #Fluad: http://t.co/oaZoF1v4gj
— EU Medicines Agency (@EMA_News) November 28, 2014
Italian authorities issued a partial ban on FLUAD on Thursday after being alerted that three people had died and a fourth had been taken seriously ill within 48 hours of being administered the product.
More cases came to light in the following days.
Originally published as Flu vaccine kills 13