Merck & Co. is recalling about a million doses of a childhood vaccine, after testing showed a sterilization problem in a Pennsylvania factory.
The company is not aware of any harm to children who received the vaccine, known as Hib, which prevents meningitis and pneumonia. It is a three-dose shot recommended for all children under 5 and is usually given to infants starting at two months old.
The recall involves 10 lots of Hib vaccine and two lots of a combination vaccine for both Hib and hepatitis B, a Merck spokeswoman said.
She said the company did not find contamination in the vaccine itself, but in the plant where the vaccine is produced in West Point, Pa.
Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., is one of the few drug makers that produces a significant number of vaccines.
While the company took a black eye with its September 2004 withdrawal of the painkiller Vioxx due to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, the company has been performing well recently. On Tuesday, it gave an upbeat assessment in its annual briefing for analysts.
Five weeks ago, Merck reached a deal to settle up to 50,000 Vioxx lawsuits for $4.85 billion, an amount expected to save the company millions in trial costs.
Its stock price has more than recovered from its post-Vioxx slump, a two-year-old restructuring plan is going well and profits are up. For example, Merck posted a 62 percent increase in its third-quarter profit as revenues jumped by double digits.
The company is not aware of any harm to children who received the vaccine, known as Hib, which prevents meningitis and pneumonia. It is a three-dose shot recommended for all children under 5 and is usually given to infants starting at two months old.
The recall involves 10 lots of Hib vaccine and two lots of a combination vaccine for both Hib and hepatitis B, a Merck spokeswoman said.
She said the company did not find contamination in the vaccine itself, but in the plant where the vaccine is produced in West Point, Pa.
Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., is one of the few drug makers that produces a significant number of vaccines.
While the company took a black eye with its September 2004 withdrawal of the painkiller Vioxx due to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, the company has been performing well recently. On Tuesday, it gave an upbeat assessment in its annual briefing for analysts.
Five weeks ago, Merck reached a deal to settle up to 50,000 Vioxx lawsuits for $4.85 billion, an amount expected to save the company millions in trial costs.
Its stock price has more than recovered from its post-Vioxx slump, a two-year-old restructuring plan is going well and profits are up. For example, Merck posted a 62 percent increase in its third-quarter profit as revenues jumped by double digits.
偶以前的老板是美国人，专门研究过这个话题，他就说能不打就不打
偶知道，但是偶想说的是，美国这个疫苗系统，有很多弊端，很久啦
偶以前的老板是美国人，专门研究过这个话题，他就说能不打就不打
嗯，从来没打过flu shot, 也没给Grace打。
MIT上面有个MM也是坚持说不要打疫苗。大家有研究的可以稍微多说说吗？问题主要在哪里呢？ 孩子上学，上daycare，都是要提供打疫苗的form。 不打，孩子没法在外面混啊