(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-13 20:07

Health officials said they already are talking about prioritizing shots for American Indian and Alaska Native children, who are considered at higher risk for Hib-caused illnesses, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

It was unclear how many of the 1.2 million doses were administered to children.

The recalled doses, distributed beginning in April, are considered potent, so revaccinations won't be needed, Schuchat said.

Should the vaccine later prove contaminated, health officials believe most children will experience, at worst, skin irritation around the shot site. Problems could be worse for children with weakened immune systems.

Any problems would have appeared within a week of vaccination, Schuchat said, and there have been no such reports.

The contamination was on unspecified equipment used in making the vaccine. Kuter said a sterility test during a routine evaluation of Merck's West Point, Pa., vaccine plant determined that the equipment was contaminated with a common bacterium called Bacillus cereus, or B. cereus.

It is a spore-making microorganism commonly associated with food poisoning and causes diarrhea and vomiting in people who eat contaminated foods.

The recall is likely to heighten a debate over childhood vaccines, their safety and whether too many are required. Some parents are distrustful and suspect some vaccines of being linked to autism, although scientific studies have not shown a connection.

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