Parents of children vaccinated for Haemophilus influenzae type B and/or Haermophilus combined with Hepatitis B vaccine manufactured by Merck & Co. should watch for any signs of infection, such as redness and swelling at the injection site within seven days of innoculation, according to Alex Haartz, administrator with the Nevada State Health Division.
The effectiveness of the recalled vaccines are not under question, but Merck cannot guarantee the vaccine's sterility.
Sterility tests from the recalled lots have not found any contamination and the potential for contamination is very low, but parents should watch their children as a precautionary measure, Haartz said.
Merck & Co. initiated a voluntary recall last week in the United States for 10 lots of pedvaxHIB and two lots of COMVAC, which combines Haemophilus and Hepatitis B vaccines.
Providers who use only Merck HIB vaccines may have a portion or all of their vaccine recalled. About half of the Hib vaccine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is being recalled.
The affected doses were distributed throughout the United States, starting in April.
