State health officials say Iowa is among the states that received a batch of pediatric H1N1 flu vaccine that’s being recalled. Don Callaghan with the Iowa Department of Public Health says the state received around 28,000 doses of the vaccine in question.
The vaccine, delivered in prefilled syringes, was intended for children six months to three years old. Callaghan says there’s no reason for parents to be alarmed since the vaccine is considered safe. “The only concern here was making sure that it was effective (of a vaccine) as we could have,” Callaghan said.
“The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention feel this is a safe and effective dose and there’s no need to be re-vaccinated.” Most of the Iowa doses in question arrived in mid-November. The rest were delivered in early December and clinics are being told not to use the doses if they have any left.
The vaccine, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur, is being recalled for a potential loss of potency. Callaghan says testing of the vaccine found it was “only slightly below” standards set by the CDC. The vaccine lot numbers associated with the recall were marked UT023DA, UT028DA, UT028CB and UTO30CA.