The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday advised parents to ask clinics about availability before making an appointment for routine vaccinations, as the agency replaces about 170,000 defective doses of a hepatitis A vaccine.
In late March, the centers received reports that hospitals and clinics had found adhesive residue on some syringes, rubber seals and outer packaging of hepatitis A vaccines, which are part of routine vaccinations for children, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said.
The CDC reported the situation to the Food and Drug Administration and asked the vaccine company to investigate, Tseng said, adding that the supplier found that the residue resulted from the packaging process and did not affect vaccine quality.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
However, as the products did not meet the standard of the procurement contract, about 170,000 doses have been sealed for return, while the company has promised to change its package design and send new vaccines, she said.
The company plans to send the first batch of replacements at the end of next month.
No one received doses with the adhesive residue, Tseng said.
Supply is expected to return to normal by September, but about 120,000 infants might be affected by the delayed schedule, she said.
Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎), head of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said that infants should get the first dose at 12 to 15 months old, and the second dose at least six months apart.
As the international recommendation is for children to receive the first dose between 12 and 23 months, and the second dose six to 12 months later, children who were originally scheduled to be vaccinated, but cannot do so, can still get vaccinated when the new shots become available, Lee said.
The CDC also advised parents to call their hospital or clinic about hepatitis A vaccine availability before taking their child to get vaccinated.
Lee said the hepatitis A virus is transmitted primarily through contaminated food or water, adding that unvaccinated children and their parents should avoid unboiled water and raw food, and maintain good personal hygiene, especially by washing their hands before handling food or after using the bathroom.
In other news, hospitals reported 17,895 visits for enterovirus infection last week, the highest number for the period in a decade, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said, adding that coxsackie A viruses are still the main circulating viruses.
Enterovirus activity is in the epidemic period and weekly cases continue to rise, Tseng said, adding that the peak is estimated to arrive late this month or early next month.
Last week, 256 classes were suspended due to enterovirus infections, she said.
In addition, Gou said that 246 hospitalized COVID-19 cases were reported last week, slightly higher than the previous week, 69 percent of whom were people aged 65 or older.
One of the cases is a one-year-old boy who was initially suspected of having an enterovirus infection after developing a fever, oral ulcers and blisters on the limbs, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
However, he was rushed to a hospital four days later for convulsions and tested positive for COVID-19, Lin said.
The boy is being treated for COVID-19 and encephalitis in an intensive care unit, and is still suspected to have enterovirus, which he is being tested for, he said.
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