No, the Pandemrix vaccine was almost certainly the cause of the narcolepsy epidemic in Finland and Sweden in 2009-2013. The case seems to have been a very unfor

No, the Pandemrix vaccine was almost certainly the cause of the narcolepsy epidemic in Finland and Sweden in 2009-2013. The case seems to have been a very unfortunate coincidence of a specific booster used in this vaccine (squalene), genetic susceptibility of the population (large incidence of a specific autoimmunity mutation), and one protein in this specific vaccine evoking an autoimmune reaction against orexin-producing neurons in the brain. Orexin is a naturally occurring hormone in our bodies that regulates wakefulness, and the lack of which is the cause of type I narcolepsy. My understanding is had any one of these three unfortunate factors (the bad booster, the bad population genetics, or the bad protein) been removed, the vaccine would have likely been safe. Further, only children and adolescents were ever susceptible to the harmful side effect. The specific vaccine (Pandemrix) was not used in the United States, as the CDC notes.