TORONTO - A strange vaccine-related phenomenon spotted at the
start of the 2009 flu pandemic may well have been real, a new
study suggests. Canadian researchers noticed in the early weeks
of the pandemic that people who got a flu shot for the 2008-2009
winter seemed to be more likely to get infected with the
pandemic virus than people who hadn't received a flu shot. Five
studies done in several provinces showed the same puzzling and
unsettling results. But initially research outside of Canada did
not, and the effect was dismissed as "the Canadian problem."
News of the unexpected findings broke at a time when countries
in North America and parts of Europe were getting ready to start
vaccinating their populations against the pandemic virus. Some
jurisdictions were also trying to figure out whether to offer
the seasonal flu vaccine they had purchased — similar to the
2008-2009 shot — along with the pandemic vaccine, in case the
seasonal flu viruses continued to circulate. Quebec opted not to
offer the seasonal v