Health experts say H1N1 vaccine recall not a safety issue

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Health experts say H1N1 vaccine recall not a safety issue

Isabel Mascarenas
December 15, 2009

St. Petersburg, Florida - Vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur has recalled 800,000 H1N1 vaccines, 40,000 of those from Florida.

The recall is no concern for All Children's Hospital's Director of Infectious Diseases Dr. Juan Demois. "Parents whose kids have gotten the vaccine don't have to worry about getting them extra doses. Consider them protected," says Dr. Demois.

During regular monitoring, vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur found the potency of the vaccines had dropped off after shipment. "It might be the active ingredient got stuck to the outside of the container and is no longer in the liquid part of the vaccine," explains Dr. Demois.

The 800,000 vaccines recalled are single filled syringes made for children between six months and three years old. These syringes do not contain the preservative Thimerosal. Dr. Demois says the drop in the vaccine's strength is not a safety issue. He says, "The amount is so low, most scientists who reviewed the information [say it does] not seem to be clinically significant."

Dr. Demois says children whose vaccines came from one of the four lots recalled do not need to be re-vaccinated.
While the recall of 800,000 vaccines is a lot, Dr. Demois says it won't hurt supply. He says there are plenty of vaccines available.

"Not every one who could get it has wanted it. I don't think supply is a problem at all," he says.

We did some checking of Tampa Bay area health departments. The Pinellas County Health Department does not have any of the recalled vaccines, but Hillsborough and Polk do report having these vaccines in stock. Hillsborough reports having 200 of the recalled vaccines; six doses have been given out and the rest have been pulled. Polk County reports having 500 doses but none have been given out.

If you have any questions, you can call The Florida Flu Information Line at 1-877-352-3581. Operators are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

For more information, visit any of the following websites:

Florida Department of Health: www.myflusafety.com

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services flu site: www.flu.gov

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/

http://origin.tampabays10.com/news/health/story.aspx?storyid=120183&catid=12

 

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Re: Health experts say H1N1 vaccine recall not a safety issue

Central Florida received swine flu shots for children that feds have recalled for potency reasons

Officials stress that vaccine is still safe

By Fernando Quintero, Orlando Sentinel
11:59 a.m. EST, December 16, 2009

Several Central Florida county health departments received swine flu shots for children that have been recalled by federal health officials due to their lack of potency.

Orange County Health Department officials reported they received 90 doses of the H1N1 pediatric injectable vaccines that were recalled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. However, none of those doses were given to area children by the health department and were quickly removed from shelves.

Volusia and Osceola did not receive the recalled shots. Seminole received 300 and gave out 50 shots. However, a spokeswoman for that county's health department said they had 400 remaining doses to administer that were not part of the recall.

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-flu-vaccine-recall-20091216,0,1515362.story