HEALTH

Researchers find no link between flu shots and miscarriage risk

Mike Stobbe The Associated Press
Published Thursday, February 28, 2019 2:44PM EST

A medical assistant at the Sea Mar Community Health Center gives a patient a flu shot in Seattle on January 11, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Ted S. Warren)

Text:

NEW YORK -- Health officials say further research has not found a miscarriage risk for women who get annual flu shots.

Two years ago, a puzzling study found women who had miscarriages between 2010 and 2012 were more likely to have had back-to-back annual flu shots. So experts urged more research.

This week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said a larger and more rigorous study found no link over three subsequent flu seasons.

Meanwhile, the CDC raised a question about a new shingles vaccine. A preliminary study found two cases of a rare paralyzing condition among more than 100,000 people who got a Shingrix shot. But one of the two may have started developing symptoms before the shot. Officials say they're doing more research.