by John-Michael Dumais, Childrens Health Defense:
Finland plans to vaccinate 10,000 “high-risk” individuals against the H5N8 strain of bird flu. Critics warn of potential dangers from the untested vaccine and question the necessity given the absence of human infections in the country.
Finland is set to become the first country in the world to offer bird flu vaccinations to humans, sparking a heated debate about vaccine safety and necessity.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos or THL) announced plans to begin administering H5N8 bird flu vaccines to select groups as early as next week, despite the absence of human infections in the country.