Kids Swine Flu Shots Recalled For Not Being Strong Enough
Sanofi Aventis has recalled 800,000 H1N1 shots because they were not potent enough. NPR reports that the CDC says there is no safety hazard despite the recall. The CDC says parents need to make sure children get two doses of swine flu vaccine one month apart.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there's no safety hazard and doesn't recommend that kids who got shots from affected lots be revaccinated.
The affected vaccine just missed the minimum requirement for potency, the CDC said, so even the substandard lots should be strong enough to evoke a decent immune response in kids.
The CDC continues to recommend that children get two doses of swine flu vaccine about a month apart. So the main piece of advice for parents whose kids got a dose of the substandard vaccine is to make sure they get their second dose on schedule.
The H1N1 virus is estimated to have killed over 1,100 children in the U.S. so far according to the CDC. That is about ten times the number of children killed from influenza in the U.S. annually.
