(LEAD) 8 people show abnormal reactions over flu vaccines

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with number of people who received potentially defective flu vaccines rising to nearly 2,000)

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- Eight out of nearly 2,000 South Koreans who received potentially defective flu vaccines have shown abnormal reactions, the public health agency said Thursday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that as of Wednesday, a total of 1,910 people have been injected with the vaccines that were suspected to have been exposed to room temperature, up 548 from a day earlier.

Among them, two said they have chills, headaches and nausea after being injected with the vaccines.

The third and fourth people said they have developed hives and diarrhea, respectively.

Still, the agency said the conditions of the four people have since improved.

The public health agency also said the four remaining people had a fever and chills before their conditions got better.

Inactivated vaccines should be stored in refrigerators, and exposure to room temperatures could result in decreased vaccine potency and increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

But the safety of those vaccines exposed to room temperatures has yet to be determined.

An ongoing study on the safety of the exposed vaccines is expected to wrap up early next week.

entropy@yna.co.kr
(END)