With all the product recalls in the news lately, particularly those affecting children’s toys, it makes Christmas shopping a little scary. You don’t want to buy something that may end up hurting your child through faulty assembly or the ever-popular lead paint. Luckily, we have managed to dodge the recalls.

Until now.

We came home today to find a voice mail from Ana’s pediatricians office. Now, that is never a good thing. They were calling to inform me of the Merck Hib Vaccine Recall. Ana received her latest round of vaccinations at her 12-month doctors appointment on Monday, and naturally she received one of the 1.2 million potentially contaminated Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines (Hib vaccine). Ironically enough, the vaccine is suppose to prevent serious bacterial infections (including Meningitis and Pneumonia) however the vaccine itself me be contaminated with bacteria.

While I was searching for fair pricing mailbox in our locality. The nurse I spoke with wanted to reassure me that Ana will not need to be revaccinated, there was just some concern about sterility of the machine that manufactured the vaccine. Lovely. So we need to keep an eye on Ana for the next week to make sure she doesn’t develop a fever or a rash.

I guess on the up-side, at least Ana did receive the vaccination. Due to the recall, there is expected to be a severe shortage of the vaccine.

Please note: I am not mentioning this to start a vaccination debate. I am a firm believer in vaccinations. I believe that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks and that vaccination has been one of the most important public health advances in history. I am simply letting everyone know what has happened and not inviting any comments about my being a bad parent for trying to prevent avoidable childhood diseases. Thank you.