The recalled vaccine comes in a pre-filled syringe used for children between the ages of 6 and 35 months. Sanofi Pasteur, the French company that produces it, has recalled four lots of the vaccine because it has lost potency over time. The vaccine is still powerful enough to trigger an immune response, so there is no need for children to get revaccinated.
Each lot of vaccine passed the pre-release testing for potency and safety experts say, but the vaccines lost strength once they were shipped out, tests show. It’s unclear how many doses were recalled, however.
Health officials said that any child who has received the recalled vaccine has no need to take another dose. Children under 10 years of age are encouraged to receive two H1N1 doses, and receiving one of the recalled vaccinations poses no health threat, officials say.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still determining how many doses of the recalled H1N1 vaccine have been delivered to California, while an estimated 800,000 have been delivered throughout the country.
But a spokeswoman there refused to discuss the recall.
Local businessman Dan Schack has organized several flu clinics in Tracy to help vaccinate the poor and uninsured, including one on Monday, he said.
“We checked the lot numbers on every shipment we received to make sure it hasn’t been recalled, and it will certainly be done in the future,” said Schack.
Schack has organized swine flu vaccine clinics at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and Tracy Interfaith Ministries, and plans to have another sometime in January.
The recalled vaccine has been sent out to all 50 states according to Wendi Dick of the county public health office.
“We are still waiting for a press release from the state, then we will know how much of the recalled vaccine is in California,” said Krista Dommers, Health Services.
Contact a Tracy Press reporter or editor at 835-3030 or tpnews@tracypress.com.
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