We assessed the occurrence of oculo-respiratory syndrome (ORS) following two influenza vaccines: Fluviral (Shire Biologics) or Vaxigrip (Aventis Pasteur). ORS was identified amongst 5.3 and 4.6% of recipients, respectively (P=0.54). With both vaccines, the risk of ORS was much greater in individuals who had ORS the previous year (2000) than in those without such history. In multivariate analysis, the odds ratio for ORS for patients with a prior history of ORS varied between 9.4 and 9.6 (P<0.001) whereas that comparing Fluviral and Vaxigrip varied between 1.5 and 1.9 (P=0.02-0.05). ORS is an adverse event that is present with more than one vaccine and may be present with any influenza vaccines to a greater or lesser degree.