A nurse prepares doses of H1N1 vaccine at the Balboa Park Community Center in Encino, California October 23, 2009. Los Angeles County officials opened the first public health clinic there for patients in the high priority group with special health needs. Picture taken October 23, 2009. ©Reuters

BEIJING, Nov. 26 — There’s no evidence that the A/H1N1 flu vaccine can cause any serious side effects, said U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a report released on Wednesday.

The report was CDC’s first report on the safety of the vaccine.

The report said the U.S. government has been tracking the safety of the A/H1N1 flu

vaccine since October, and about 22 million Americans have been inoculated with the vaccine by mid-November.

Among the inoculators there were about 3,200 reports of possible side effects, the vast majority for minor things like soreness or swelling from the shot. No serious problem has been found.

The A/H1N1 flu vaccine is basically the same as the regular winter flu vaccine, said the report.

“The vaccine data so far really suggests this is a safe vaccine,” Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said at a press conference Wednesday.

The A/H1N1 influenza has sickened an estimated 22 million Americans, hospitalized about 98,000 and killed 4,000 since it was first identified in April. 

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/26/content_12541662.htm