On December 27, 2014 we first heard about the possibility that a flu shot could lead to persistent arm pain. Don V. shared his experience with the relatively new “Quad” influenza vaccine. This quadrivalent shot was designed to protect against four separate influenza strains, whereas previous vaccinations were only capable of defending against three.
Don told us that two months after the shot his arm was still sore as blazes. His question: “Have you read any reports that this sore arm issue is widespread this year?”
We had not heard of anything like that, but no sooner did we ask listeners of our syndicated radio show and readers of our syndicated newspaper column than we were inundated with responses.
On January 17, 2015 we heard from Nance M, a nurse practitioner. She said, “I heard your broadcast and wanted to let you know that eight weeks after getting a mandatory flu shot I have substantial arm pain and muscle weakness.”
Joan in Carson City, California shared this on March 3, 2015:
“I got my flu shot September 15, 2014. Since then the pain in my arm, shoulder and collarbone has progressively gotten worse.
“I can no longer sleep lying down. I’ve had two cortisone shots in my shoulder, but my arm continues to gets worse. I’m still trying to find a doctor to figure out the problem.
“It seems to me that six months is too long to be in pain constantly when trying to do simple things. Just trying to blow-dry my hair or even put on eyebrow pencil causes me extreme pain.”
We have heard from scores of others who have reported persistent shoulder pain from the flu shot this year. Although the CDC says that pain at the injection site usually goes away in a week or less, many people have found that their arms are still very tender months later. Some, like Joan are in pain despite receiving cortisone shots.
As far as we can tell, neither the CDC nor the FDA have acknowledged that this year’s flu shot has left some people with long lasting (if not permanent) pain and weakness in their arms. It seems to us that these public health agencies are dedicated to getting people to have influenza vaccinations while downplaying any risks. That’s why there doesn’t seem to be much interest in collecting such information.
We would like to encourage anyone who has been affected by this year’s flu shot (quad or otherwise) to report any problems directly to the FDA’s MedWatch system. Only by sharing your experience will the FDA recognize that there might be a problem. Hopefully the FDA will figure out what, if anything, went wrong and try to protect people from this situation in future years.
Here is a link to the FDA and CDC joint Vaccine Adverse Events page.
As usual, we find the government’s online reporting system a bit challenging. You may wish to print the form and fill it out by hand and fax or mail it in.
What always amazes us about the FDA’s adverse event reporting system is that they request things like “Vaccine (type),” “Manufacturer,” and, best of all, “Lot number.” They do this sort of thing with generic drugs as well.
When someone gets a flu shot the nurse or pharmacist rarely, if ever, mentions the vaccine type or the manufacturer. And the chances that you would be told the lot number are slim to none. So when the FDA requests a manufacturer and lot number many people give up right there.
DO NOT GIVE UP! The FDA and the CDC will deal with your report regardless of lot number or manufacturer. Please let them know if you experienced a problem! If enough people report a reaction, these organizations may not be able to ignore it.
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