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Israel Resumes Flu Vaccinations

The Israeli Ministry of Health has given the green light to clinics and hospitals around the country to resume flu vaccinations after the program was suspended for several days, following the death of four people around the country. The health minister ruled out any connection between the death of the four and the fact that they received the flu vaccination, after health authorities briefed him.

A wave of panic hit the country after news networks reported that four men had died after been inoculated against flu, and that three out of the four had received their vaccination in the same health clinic in the southern town of Kiryat Gat. Israeli health minister, Yaakov Ben-Yizri ordered the suspension of all vaccinations as a precaution and investigations began. The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, makers of the vaccine, sent representatives to Israel to help with the probe.

Within 24 hours, the Ministry of Health declared that there was no connection between the death of the four men and the flu vaccinations. In a bizarre stroke of fate, three of the four men happened to have been inoculated at the same health clinic, although 140,000 people have received their shots in the country. In a press conference on Monday, Ben Yizri announced that the men who had died were all elderly, with serious medical problems. To show his confidence in the findings, Ben-Yizri had himself inoculated with the flu vaccination live in front of the cameras.