State health officials are contacting 132 health care providers who received H1N1 pediatric vaccine from four lots that were voluntarily recalled Tuesday by the manufacturer ,Sanofi Pasteur.
The vaccine was not recalled because of safety concerns, State Epidemiologist Megan Davies said. "The concern is that the recalled vaccine may not be strong enough to provide full immunity."
Providers across North Carolina received 17,900 of the 800,000 prefilled syringes affected by the recall. The shots were intended for children ages 6 months to 35 months of age.
Sanofi Pasteur voluntarily recalled the pediatric vaccine because the antigen content - the component that causes immunity to a virus - was slightly below the specified range.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the vaccine still offers protection against H1N1 flu and did not recommend revaccinating people who received doses from the recalled lots. The recall does not include any nasal mist vaccine.
Parents of children who received shots from the recalled lots do not need to take any action, the CDC said. But it has been recommended that all children under 10 get two doses of H1N1 vaccine, about a month apart, to get immunity to the flu.
Health departments in Wake, Durham and Johnston counties all said that they had not distributed any of the recalled vaccine. Officials inOrange County could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
In Wake, health officials said the recalled vaccine had gone only to private providers. They said six private medical care providers in Wake County had used the vaccine. The health department did not release the names of the providers but said that parents of children 6 months to 3 years could check with the doctor's office or clinic where they received the shot.
Wake Community Health Director Sue Lynn Ledford also cautioned that parents should not be concerned. "Kids who received a recalled H1N1 vaccine are still more protected than kids who did not receive a vaccine at all," Ledford said in a statement.
Some hospitals were still unsure whether they had received the recalled vaccine. Clinton Colmenares, a spokesman for UNC Hospitals, said the hospital should know by today whether it used the recalled lots.
Providers who received the recalled vaccine are asked to return unused doses to Sanofi Pasteur.
In recent weeks, North Carolina health departments, doctors' offices and hospitals have received enough vaccine that allow them to distribute it to anyone, not just people who are at high risk for flu complications. Earlier this fall, limited supplies were being reserved for those groups, which included pregnant women, children, young adults and anyone with a chronic medical condition.
