ON STALE VACCINES
Truth or Rumor?

"Murmurs in the medical community are growing too loud for health officials to ignore. A big pharmaceutical firm supposedly has distributed stale vaccines which were then injected by unsuspecting doctors to children and adults. The firm, which manufactures the drug for two multinationals, is trying to keep it hush-hush. Its warehouse temperature detector had conked out late last month, freezing and ruining the vaccines. It did not act on the matter until the two multinationals issued advisories to internists and pediatricians about the snafu. By which time, it was too late.

The drug maker claims that the stale vaccines were safe, just that they lost efficacy. That didn't wash, however, with concerned doctors who believe that patients may have been put at risk. The two clients have ordered the firm to recall all the damaged stocks, a sign that something is amiss. Only then did the maker pull out the product from hospitals and drugstores, with promises to replace them soon. To this day, there has been no report if all the damaged vials have been destroyed. Health authorities likewise have made no report on potential health risks to hapless patients." [Stale vaccines still in use? --- Philstar.com]

What is it with this unnamed "big pharmaceutical firm?" It recalled the alleged stale vaccines AFTER its 2 multinational clents ordered it to do so?

Anu ba naman yan?!? Kailangan pang sabihan bago gawin ang tamang gawin? (What's this?!? It was still necessary that they had to be told or "ordered" before doing the responsible thing?)

AAAARRRGGGH.

What was that all about? Was the firm afraid of lost sales? Was it more concerned with lost sales than being a responsible pharmaceutical company?

Health services are delicate and necessitate both maturity and the ability to be responsible. Vaccines usually concern children. They are expensive and yet parents always consider them necessary for their kid's well-being. I think a single vaccine administration --- say, measles or DPT at a pediatrician's clinic costs about a thousand a pop --- and if you're a mom who discover that your child has just been administered a stale vaccine, wouldn't your temperature and BP rise in anger?

In this case, pediatricians and internists are likewise victims, but they are made accessories to this snafu. Ginagawa silang tanga. (They are made fools).

Sure, sure, I buy the argument that a temperature detector conking out might produce only a "lost efficacy" on the vaccines concerned, but....? I mean, that's it? Wouldn't you at least have the balls to publish full-page apologies and advisories in leading dailies? And why is the Department of Health (DOH) so silent about it? Hello! Hello! Oks lang kayo?

Ano ba ito --- katangahan?!? Hanggang dito ba naman, maglolokohan pa tayo?

I feel so frustrated with this childish concept of "if-you-can-get away-with-it-why-bother?"

GRRRRR!

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UPDATE: My friend Ting-Aling is now in the Blogosphere. She started blogging hours ago. Please check out her weblog by clicking the link below:

Ting Aling's SERENDIPITY Weblog