Childhood Vaccine Recalled

[fed-up]

Source: AP

Dec 12, 4:42 PM EST

Childhood Vaccine Recalled

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer


ATLANTA (AP) -- Merck & Co. is recalling about a million doses of a childhood vaccine, after testing showed a sterilization problem in a Pennsylvania factory.

The company is not aware of any harm to children who received the vaccine, known as Hib, which prevents meningitis and pneumonia. It is a three-dose shot recommended for all children under 5 and is usually given to infants starting at two months old.

The recall involves 10 lots of Hib vaccine and two lots of a combination vaccine for both Hib and hepatitis B, a Merck spokeswoman said.

She said the company did not find contamination in the vaccine itself, but in the plant where the vaccine is produced in West Point, Pa.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VACCINE_RECALL?SITE=CASON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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mods, wasn't sure if this belongs in health or breaking news...you can be the decider :)

[thereismore]

1. I thought vaccines were completely innocuous. I guess not. nt

[ThomCat]

2. Almost nothing is completely innocuous.

But if you say that about any corporate product someone will jump down your throat. :)

[rucky]

3. And the biggest shills can be found right here. n/t

[kimmerspixelated]

5. Ain't that the truth!

[heliarc]

6. How could...

something that is made from weakened viruses be completely innocuous? ... that and the fact that they throw in all sorts of other chemical preservatives... There is controversy over whether or not Thimerosol is a cause for autism in children. http://www.babysnark.com/health/thimerosol-vaccines-autism.asp

[hedgehog]

8. That has about the same scientific status as the controversies over

evolution and why we can't run our cars on water if we ever find that pill tha guy invented!

[heliarc]

10. So there's no reason that the CDC agreed that...

Thimerosol content should be reduced or eliminated? http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/thimerosal.htm

The CDC believes as does the IOM that Thimerosol in the traces one finds it in vaccines is not a cause of autism. What if a batch is poorly manufactured? What if it is mishandled? Putting Mercury in your child's body at such an early age can't be a great idea and I'm sure that even though the CDC doesn't believe that Autism is the result, they still think that its a bad idea.

[hedgehog]

12. I'm certain that it is an unwarranted risk. We used to use mercury

in a very cavalier fashion. Most people my age probably saw mercury rolling around from a broken thermometer. When it was cleaned up, it went out to the local dump. We also used to paint ourselves with mercurochrome. Although some would defend Mercurochrome (http://www.mercurochrome.org) I tend to think that the less exposure to mercury the better. Apparently the CDC agrees. That's still a far cry from claiming that vaccines with thimerosol cause autism.

[heliarc]

13. The claims seem to have sparked debate though...

Can't fault that. I'm about to have a baby, and you better believe that I'm getting the more expensive vaccines without Thimerosol.

[hedgehog]

14. To the best of my knowledge, thimerosaol is out of all vaccines except

flu vaccines in multi dose vials:


http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/thimerosal.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/thimerosal.htm

[heliarc]

19. And we just learned from our pediatrician...

That administering a vaccine containing Thimerosol to a child under the age of 3 is illegal in the State of California. whew. We were a little worried.

[hedgehog]

4. The article is very spare, but it implies that Merck performed routine

tests of its manufacturing facility and discovered contaminants that are unacceptable. The contaminants were not found in the vaccines, so th recall is a precautionary measure. Think of it as throwing out the leftover chile after someone gets sick even though everyone else is fine. It's not clear whether these routine tests are Merck procedure or government required. In any case, Merck found a problem and did the right thing. I don't see a need here to condemn Merck or vaccines.

[drm604]

7. This sounds like an abundance of caution.

I think you're correct.

There's plenty to criticize Pharmaceutical companies about, but I don't think that this is one of them. Such companies have to use an abundance of caution in such situations, even when there's no evidence of contamination. Because of this, they have more than their share of recalls and warnings issued. This causes it to look like they're being irresponsible when in reality they're being very cautious.

Before anyone jumps on me, yes drug companies do sometimes hide data and put dangerous drugs on the market. But, at least based on what's reported here, it sounds like they're being responsible in this instance.

[Mend]

9. Merck knew Vioxx caused cardiac problems when it first made the drug...

and still sold it for many years. I don't think you can believe one thing they say, ever. How do they know 1 million vaccines aren't contaminated since they haven't even gotten them back yet and tested them? We are not talking about one of their toilets being dirty. Something is dirty in the manufacturing process and "no evidence" of contamination is not the same as no contamination.

[drm604]

15. I don't see any disagreement between us.

I agree they should have recalled the vaccines and I agree that they were criminally negligent in the case of Vioxx.

None of that means that vaccines are inherently bad, which seems to be what some people here think.

[Mnemosyne]

17. I do not think vaccines are bad, but have you ever studied the shit

they add to them. That is the problem, NOT the vaccine itself.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-1.pdf

And yes, mercury is very harmful in any form. Low-level chronic inhalation exposure creates a host of health issues. It affects the CNS, the heart and kidneys the most. It harms fetuses and small children much more than an adult or teen.

I know from extreme personal research and experience. Guess which health problems I am familiar with? All of them.

If mercury is relatively safe or harmless, how would you explain 'Mad Hatters' disease?

[drm604]

18. Where did I say that mercury was safe or harmless?

Where did I say anything about mercury?

[NickB79]

21. There is a world of difference between methy mercury and ethyl mercury

Mad Hatter's disease was caused by methyl mercury, the most toxic form of mercury available. Same with the other symptoms you described. Methyl mercury has never been used in vaccines; thimerosol is a variant of ethyl mercury. Different chemical forms of mercury compounds greatly affect how the body absorbs and incorporates it.

Besides that, mercury has been removed from virtually all vaccines today.

[Mnemosyne]

16. Google SV-40, curl your hair. n/t

[L0oniX]

11. It's all monkey puss and witches brew anyway. n/t

[BlueIris]

20. Pharmageddon, here we come.

You know, the point at which basically no one fully trusts Big Pharma because of all the deaths caused by unsafe pharmaceuticals? It's a shame really, because it didn't have to go down like this. Many may now refuse life-saving drugs (and die) because the pharmaceutical companies decided to allow gross negligence of this nature to proliferate the industry.