Swine Flu Vaccines Recalled
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December 15, 2009
Filed under News
Atlanta’s swine flu vaccines for children have been recalled
Tests indicate that the swine flu vaccine administered to children, ages 6 months to 3 years, in Atlanta has lost strength. Many of the shots have been recalled, as of December 15th.
About 800,000 syringes pre-filled with the vaccine created by Sanofi Pasteur (Sanofi-Aventis Company) have already been used throughout the country within the last month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC flu expert, Dr. Anne Schuchat, said that parents have nothing to worry about if a child received one or more of the recalled shots. She says that this vaccine is safe and effective; it’s just a matter of the vaccine’s strength.
Why the vaccine’s strength weakened 12% below the government standard in a test last week is unclear. Tests conducted before the shipping showed results indicating that the vaccines were strong enough. Some experts have theorized that the problem is related to the pre-filled syringes. “For some reason, the antigen – the key vaccine ingredient – may be sticking to the walls of those syringes,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman, FDA’s deputy commissioner for science and public health. Another swine flu vaccination manufacturer, Novartis, has also needed to recall their swine flu vaccine that was also pre-filled in syringes under the same circumstances.
“Health officials don’t think children need to get vaccinated again, even if they got two doses from the recalled lots,” said Schuchat in an article from the Associated Press. Children in the affected age brackets are given two doses of the swine flu vaccine which are spaced a month apart.
Since October, the swine flu vaccine has been distributed in 95 million doses across the United States.
Written by Dana Edwards
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