ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 18, 1996 TAG: 9612190005
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
Because 5.8 million of the 75 million doses of flu vaccine produced this season were not full strength, federal health officials Tuesday advised doctors to consider giving another flu shot to roughly 2 million recipients who are at highest risk from complications of the viral infection.
People over 65 and those with chronic heart and lung disease are among those considered at highest risk, health officials said in raising the alert. But they said that, because of dwindling supplies of flu vaccine, priority should go to people at high risk who have not been vaccinated at all this season because they need protection the most.
Healthy people should not be re-immunized, even if they received the weakened vaccine, officials said.
It is the first time that scientists have ever detected a weakened flu vaccine, Dr. David Kessler, food and drugs commissioner, said in an interview. The drug agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta announced the alert. Kessler said the cause of the weakened vaccine was unknown and was being investigated.
The vaccine with some weakened doses was Fluogen, made by the Parke-Davis division of Warner Lambert Co. Eleven lots distributed to all 50 states and the District of Columbia lost potency, said Stephen Mock, a spokesman for Warner Lambert.
Parke-Davis' vaccine is the only one found with decreased potency of any manufactured in the world, and the company voluntarily recalled remaining stocks of its vaccine in November.
The lots involved are: 00176P, 00276P, 00576P, 00586P, 00676P, 00686P, 00786P, 00886P, 00966P, 00986P and 01066P. - The New York Times
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB