State received recalled H1N1 vaccine

The Michigan Department of Community Health announced Tuesday some state children may have been vaccinated against influenza A (H1N1) with vaccine from a recalled lot.

Sanofi-Aventis SA, maker of the vaccine, recalled 800,000 pediatric doses, a press release from MDCH notes, because “tests found the potency was too weak to effectively protect against the virus.” Michigan received 17,500 of those recalled doses.

The same press release notes nearly half of the state’s counties are impacted by the recall:

Health departments, clinics or private doctors’ offices within the City of Detroit or within 38 Michigan counties received the recalled doses. The counties include: Allegan, Alpena, Bay, Berrien, Cass, Cheboygan, Crawford, Delta, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Genesee, Ingham, Isabella, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, Kent, Lake, Lapeer, Leelanau, Livingston, Mackinac, Macomb, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Menominee, Monroe, Newaygo, Oakland, Otsego, Saginaw, Schoolcraft, St. Clair, Van Buren, Washtenaw, Wayne and Wexford.

And while the department says the recall is because the vaccine is not potent enough to cause immunity to the virus, those who may have received the vaccine may not have to get another dose.

While the antigen content of these doses is now below the specification limit for the product, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Drug Administration are in agreement that the small decrease in potency is unlikely to result in a clinically significant reduction in immune response among persons who have received the vaccine. For this reason, there is no need to revaccinate persons who have received vaccine from these lots.

The state says nearly 2,000 Michigan residents have been hospitalized with influenza since Sept. 1, 2009, and 64 have died of an influenza infection in that same time period.