The swine flu pandemic that struck in 2010 had people around the world rushing to their doctors for a vaccine to prevent the illness. However, 5 years later, researchers, parents and concerned citizens are questioning the safety of the swine flu vaccine and some even blame the vaccine for an increasing numbers of children experiencing excessive sleepiness, often causing sufferers to fall asleep suddenly and unintentionally. Learn more about other potential flu vaccine injuries.

Narcolepsy after Flu Vaccine

Studies have found that children who received the swine flu vaccine are more than 13 times as likely to suffer from narcolepsy than those that have not been vaccinated. Before the swine flu pandemic, the rate of pediatric narcolepsy was 0.31 per 100,000 children. After the swine flu vaccine was common, the rate was 5.3 per 100,000 children. The narcolepsy rate remained constant in adults before and after the Swine Flu outbreak.

According to some estimates, as many is 1 in 55,000 high-risk children that were given the swine flu vaccine may have developed narcolepsy. The vaccine in question is the Pandemrix vaccine, which was made by GlaxoSmithKline and was administered to nearly 6 million people throughout Britain during the peak of the swine flu pandemic. Before the swine flu pandemic, the rate of pediatric narcolepsy was 0.31 per 100,000 children. After the swine flu vaccine was common, the rate was 5.3 per 100,000 children.

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British Court Compensates Child Suffering from Flu Vaccine Narcolepsy

For the children suffering from narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine, there has been little in terms of assistance, compensation or even an acknowledgment of the danger of the vaccine. However, one 12 year old boy in England may be changing that. The young man was left severely disabled due to narcolepsy triggered by the swine flu vaccine and after nearly 3 years of legal struggles, the courts have awarded him £120,000.

The ruling opens the door to 100 other families that have also been affected by the unadvertised link between the vaccine and the sleep disorder. The ruling also opens doors for others to make claims against the British government, which up until this time claimed the sleep disorder was not a serious enough of an illness to merit compensation.

Since the ruling, the English government now acknowledges the link between the swine flu vaccine and narcolepsy, though they still maintain that sufferers do not meet the threshold of the Department for Work and Pension’s compensation scheme, which would automatically award individuals with £120,000 that developed narcolepsy as a result of the vaccine.

For the children living with narcolepsy and their families, this announcement comes as a bit of a shock. Many of the victims are no longer able to care for themselves due to the risk of suddenly losing muscle control. Lifetime care will be needed and without the £120,000 award from the government, the financial burden may prove to be too much for many families.

While many scientists and officials now admits there is a link between narcolepsy and the swine flu vaccine, the admission is too little, too late for many families. The chronic condition will be a painful reminder of what happens when a pandemic strikes an unprepared population.

Sadaka Associates has successfully recovered damages from a child suffering from narcolepsy from the seasonal flu vaccine.