A federal recall of H1N1 flu vaccine shouldn’t have much of an impact on Missouri, according to state health officials
Vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur has recalled around 800,000 doses of H1N1 flu vaccine for children, because the vaccine was found to lose potency after being packaged. It has recalled 22,200 doses from Missouri.
State Health Department spokesman Kit Wager says the manufacturer is trying to determine why it lost effectiveness.
“This is a very tiny drop in the strength of the vaccine. It really is not very significant,” Wager says. “It just comes down to it didn’t meet the standard and so the buyer said, ‘Hey, I want what I paid for.’”
Health officials say the recall is merely a precaution while it is determined why some batches of vaccine lost potency when they were packaged. Only pre-filled syringes of vaccine designed for children under three years old were subject to the recall. Wager points out the recall is based on the vaccine not meeting federal standards. He says it appears it retained enough potency to ward off the Swine Flu for those vaccinated prior to the recall.
Also, Wager is quick to point out the vaccine was recalled because it lost strength, not for a safety reason.
“There was never a question about the safety of this vaccine. The vaccine has been found to be very safe. That was never an issue in the recall,” according to Wager.
Missouri has plenty of the flu vaccine from other makers. So much in fact, that state officials lifted restrictions on who could receive the H1N1 flu vaccine.
Brent Martin reports 1 min.