“None of our patients received the affected vaccines because we removed them from use as soon as we were notified,” said Pat Simonsen, supervisor of the Sutter Amador Pediatric Center. “Parents of our patients should also be aware that we receive the Hib vaccine from vendors other than Merck. This means that we do have the necessary vaccines available for the patients who need them and that these vaccines are safe for use because they are not under the recall.”

According to the California Department of Health Services, vaccine lots are routinely tested prior to release. In this instance, no contaminated vaccine has actually been found. Merck voluntarily recalled the vaccines as a precautionary measure. “This recall should not cause alarm for any patients of ours because all affected vaccines were disposed of before they were used,” says Simonsen. The CDC has recommended that children receive Hib vaccine for nearly a decade. Fewer than 100 documented Hib cases currently are reported in the United States each year.