Alberta has suspended its campaign to vaccinate young people against mumps because of severe allergic reactions to the vaccine...

The drug manufacturer Merck is issuing a voluntary recall of 1.2 million doses of its influenza HIB vaccine due to a possible contamination issue--one that the CDC says is more an inconvenience than a worry.. The "Hib" vaccine is given to children ages 2 months to 12 months in three doses..

Those who already took it? Yes. Of course. No worry, says the Center for Disease Control.

According to the Dow Jones Newswire, "The recall involves 11 lots of a Hib vaccine, Pedvaxhib, and two lots of a combination vaccine for both Hib and hepatitis B sold under the brand name Comvax, Merck said. The Merck vaccine is made at a manufacturing plant in West Point, Pa."..

And in related news: Let the shots continue: New Jersey now the first state in the nation to mandate the flu vaccine for preschoolers.

President Bush also has autism advocates angered with news he is set to veto a bill that contains a ban on thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, in child vaccines..

Labels: Vaccines