TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) received a report that an Adimmune flu vaccine at a public health clinic in Keelung had an abnormal light-yellow appearance on Saturday (Oct. 12).
The vaccine was immediately withheld, and health officials followed up with others who received vaccines from the batch. No adverse effects were reported from the people who had received the vaccines.
CDC Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said one Adimmune flu vaccine was found discolored, and but no other vaccines were found to have been affected, per PTS.
In 2018, a Sanofi flu influenza vaccine also experienced discoloration. At that time, a decision was made to suspend the use of other vaccines from that batch.
The CDC also notified the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to launch an investigation into the cause of the abnormality. Approximately 183,000 flu vaccine doses are associated with the batch, which has been distributed to six counties and cities.
It is estimated that 75,000 doses have been administered, with approximately 108,000 vaccines currently in stock. At the moment, use of the vaccines from the affected batch has been temporarily suspended.
According to Lo, “Six counties and cities with vaccines from the same batch have been notified to suspend use. These six counties and cities are Taipei City, Keelung City, Taoyuan City, Miaoli, Taitung, and Hualien.”
Publicly funded flu vaccines have been available since Oct. 1. In addition to the 183,000 suspended doses of Adimmune, there are approximately 2.87 million doses from another Adimmune batch and another 3.38 million doses from four other brands available for public use.
The CDC appealed to the public not to be alarmed by the abnormal vaccine discoloration. Flu vaccines can provide effective seasonal flu protection for the elderly and the infirm.