Vaccine Recalls

Vaccines harming children are often not recalled.

It’s official: “…recalls for vaccines and immunoglobulins were higher than other drug classes,” per a recent 72-page report by GBI Research, published March 14, 2012.  That report analyzed recalls on a year-to-year basis for the years 2007 to 2010. [1]

To obtain the report for more detailed information, the online cost is $3500.00, which probably is an effective way for keeping much of the disclosed information out of the reach of researchers who can’t afford to shell out those kinds of bucks, but who would be the most inclined to make the contents known.

According to what little information is shared at the Fast Market Research web site, “The reasons for recalls varied from serious adverse events, labeling errors and quality defects, to manufacturing defects.”  Interestingly, the highest recalls in 2010 were with infectious diseases [vaccines?] and immunodeficiency disorders therapy biologics.  Somehow one has to wonder if that represents the classic “chicken or egg” question of which came first, i.e., do infectious disease vaccines somehow induce immunodeficiency disorders for which pharmaceuticals are manufactured and sold?

From what I understand, that report covers case studies of recalled biologic products and re-released manufacturing or labeling changes.  Those are interesting aspects that the healthcare consumer needs to know more about, but probably won’t find out unless someone has $3500.00 to shell out for the report.

Fast Market Research’s website lists 16474 pharmaceutical reports that can be purchased at http://www.fastmr.com/catalog/browse.aspx?category=16&page=1. The online catalog offers a description for each report, which can cost anywhere from $75.00 to $11,400.00.

According to the CDC’s website,

How do I know if a vaccine lot is recalled?

Your doctor should notify you if a vaccine given to you or your child is recalled. When a recalled product has been widely distributed, the news media often reports on the recall. Not all recalls are announced in the media, but all recalls are listed in FDA’s weekly Enforcement Reports. See a list of vaccines that have been recalled in the past few years. [3]

Parents ought to know what CDC has to say about recalled vaccines and that their children may be required to have ‘replacement’ vaccinations:

What do I do if a vaccine lot is recalled?

Most vaccine recalls are due to low vaccine potency or strength. When the strength of a vaccine lot is lower than it should be, vaccines from the lot might not produce an immune response that is strong enough to protect against disease. Therefore, the people who were vaccinated with a recalled vaccine may need to be vaccinated again to ensure they are protected against the disease. [3]

And this, which indicates that CDC’s VAERS reports confirm what’s happening within the vaccinated population:

What is being done to monitor the safety of vaccines?

CDC, FDA, the National Institutes of Health, and other federal agencies monitor vaccine safety and investigate any possible problems with the safety of vaccines. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) accepts reports from the public about possible problems following vaccination. The FDA reviews reports weekly and closely monitors reporting trends for individual vaccine lots. [3]

The following is an example of what CDC found regarding influenza vaccines in children under 2 years of age:

FDA Vaccines, Blood & Biologics Safety
According to the FDA’s Vaccine Safety report January 20, 2011,

FDA and CDC have recently detected an increase in the number of reports to VAERS of febrile seizures following vaccination with Fluzone (trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine or TIV, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur, Inc.). Fluzone is the only influenza vaccine recommended for use for the 2010-2011 flu season in infants and children 6-23 months of age. These reported febrile seizures have primarily been seen in children younger than 2 years of age. [2]

Regarding febrile seizures,

Febrile seizures may occur with any common childhood illnesses that may cause fever, such as ear infections, colds, influenza and other viral infections, and they sometimes happen after vaccination. [2]

It would be rather interesting, I think, to see what that 72-page report has to say about vaccine recalls and compare it with what does or does not appear on the CDC’s and FDA’s web sites.

Perhaps VacTruth readers would like to know that 800,000 pediatric doses of Sanofi Pasteur’s H1N1 vaccine were recalled in 2009.  According to ABC News, Despite the nature of the recall, children who were vaccinated with the weakened doses should not be revaccinated because the antigen content “is only slightly below the ‘specified’ range,” according to the CDC.  [4]

The above information may contradict what appears on the CDC’s website.  Which is it?  Parents need to become well informed about vaccines, vaccinations, and recalls in order to protect their children.

 

References

[1] http://www.fastmr.com/prod/342072_regulatory_intelligence_on_biologics_recalls.aspx

[2]  http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/ucm240037.htm

[3] http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Vaccines/recalls.html

[4] http://abcnews.go.com/Health/SwineFluNews/sanofi-pasteur-recalls-800000-doses-h1n1-vaccine/story?id=9347146

 

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About the author

Catherine J. Frompovich

Catherine J Frompovich is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting. Catherine is an editor and writing consultant who helps authors get into publication. For numerous semesters she taught several writing courses for a suburban Philadelphia school district’s Adult Evening School. Her passion is assisting and guiding authors into print. Catherine’s latest book, A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, will be available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook sometime in July 2012. Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008).