Swine Flu Vaccine Recalled - What's Next?

Adult Receiving Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recalled over 800,000 does of the H1N1 Flu vaccine, better known as Swine Flu. According to the company that manufactures the vaccines, Sanofi Pasteur says that it "may not be effective enough to protect against the virus." The doses were to aimed for children six months to three years of age. Unfortunately, most of the vaccines have been sent all over the country and have already been used. Health officials have said that those who have received the vaccine will not need to be re-vaccinated probably.

On the CDC's website it states that:

While no drugs, including vaccines, are 100% effective or safe there have only been a few vaccine recalls or withdrawals, most of which were due to concerns regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine and not because of safety. When the strength of a vaccine lot has been reduced, those vaccines may not produce an immune response that is strong enough to protect against disease. Even though vaccine lots may not be effective, they are still safe. Vaccines are carefully tested and continuously monitored before and after they are licensed for use. If a vaccine lot were found to be unsafe, the FDA would immediately recall it from the market.

Interesting enough, the best example of a vaccine that caused serious health issues was the Polio vaccine in 1995, also known as the 'Cutter Incident' (Named after the laboratory that manufactured them). The US Public Health Service (PHS) recalled the vaccine, as a number of people got polio from it not long after, which could have caused death to many, since the poliovirus was still active. It was later established in the 1960s that it caused further problems such as paralysis. There is also a lot of talk that it was contaminated with the HIV Virus; numerous documentaries have been made about it.

What's the next thing they are going to recall it for? Defects? I honestly did not get a H1N1 vaccine because I really did not trust it; I have felt the same way about the cervical cancer vaccine as well. The reason is because it is a new vaccine, who knows what effects it will have on our bodies 10-15 years on - perhaps even sooner! You never know what these vaccines can do, until more research is done later on. I do not trust what the CDC says necessary, as these vaccines have been made recently to combat the Flu. You never know when a Cutter Incident can occur again.

Are you worried about the H1N1 vaccine?

[IImages via Telegraph]