Payout for flu vacine

A boy with a rare sleeping illness caused by a swine flu vaccine has won £120,000 in damages.

Josh Hadfield, 10, from Frome in Somerset, developed narcolepsy after receiving the Pandemrix vaccine six years ago.

He was awarded the money after appealing against the government which had initially refused to pay as he was not "severely disabled" enough.

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Families are entitled to £120,000 through the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme, but only if they can prove "severe" disability.

Josh's narcolepsy was triggered after he was given the H1N1 2009 influenza vaccine, known as Pandemrix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, in January 2010.

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The link between Pandemrix and narcolepsy was first suggested by studies in Finland and Sweden where a review of 75 children who developed the disorder had a tenfold increased risk of the condition within six months of having the jab.

This was confirmed by another study in 2012 in Ireland showing a 13-fold increase in youngsters between five and 19 years of age.