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August 16, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"30,000 to Be Tested for BCG Vaccine Potency"
Irish Times ( www.ireland.com ) (08/14/02) P. 3; O'Brien, Tim
UK-based vaccine manufacturer Evans Vaccine Ltd. [a subsidiary of
Powderject Pharmaceuticals] is on the hot seat again with the
Irish Medicines Board as the potency of its tuberculosis (TB)
vaccine appears to be inferior. The board noted, however, that
there are no safety issues with the vaccine, "other than a
possible reduced effectiveness." Health officials throughout
Ireland are now trying to locate as many as 30,000 people who may
have been vaccinated between April 2000 and April 2002. Those
identified, most of whom are children and infants, will be called
in to receive a visual test of the slight scar formation which
indicates that the vaccine was effective; if no scarring is
evident, the Mantoux test may be carried out, and repeated if
necessary. Anyone who still tests negative can be re-vaccinated
with a more potent shot of the BCG vaccine that has been secured
from other sources. For Evans Vaccines, whose license has now
been suspended by the Irish Medicines Board, this is the second
time in two months that the board has expressed dissatisfaction
with vaccines supplied by the firm.
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