I’ll admit that this question didn’t actually get sent to me individually but rather there are numerous parents who are concerned discussing the issue in the forums. What should you do if your child was recently vaccinated? How do you know if your child will get sick from receiving a shot that was recalled? What was the ‘contamination’ and what should you watch for? Here’s the post to answer all your questions.
What is being recalled and why?
I did write a blog yesterday about what specifically was being recalled. The vaccines are being recalled because during a routine safety protocol, examiners found traces of the Bacillus cereus. B. cereus is one of the types of bacterial that can cause food poisoning.
Lots of vaccines are randomly tested before they are every shipped anywhere, and random tests did not show contamination.
How do I know if my child received a shot from one of the recalled lots?
Your doctor will know whether or not your child received that brand of vaccine. The plant that was found to have a contamination is in Pennsylvania, however, vaccines are shipped all over and being from Pennsylvania doesn’t make it more likely that you have received a shot from one of the recalled lots. Doctors generally choose which brand they would prefer to have.
What if my child did receive a shot from one of the recalled lots?
If your child has received a shot within the last week and it is determined that the shot was from one of the recalled lots, simply watch for signs of bacterial infection. This includes fever, and swelling and redness and the injection site. The probability that one of the shots was contaminated is very, very low. Symptoms would appear within the first couple of days. If your child shows no symptoms within a week, there is no need to worry.
Will my child have to be revaccinated?
No. The potential for contamination doesn’t affect the shot’s efficacy.
What if my child hasn’t received the shot?
There will be a shortage of the Hib shot for awhile although the CDC and Merck are workly quickly to fix that. However, vaccination rates are so high in the U.S. that the CDC doesn’t believe at this time that there is an immediate health risk.