Parents of young children from China advised to check 2017 immunization records for recalled DTP vaccine

 
(Thanks to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control for its announcement, on which this is based.)
  
July 27, 2018
 
Two lots (batches) of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) [DTP] vaccine that were given to young children in 3 regions of China from March 2017 to October 2017 were later recalled from use in October 2017. These lots may have been too weak to provide usual protection. While there are no safety concerns reported from these vaccines, children who received doses of these vaccines may need additional immunization for full protection.
 
The recalled DTP vaccines, and initial information on their distribution, are:

• Chongqing (City) Disease Prevention and Control Centers      
• Hebei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention
  →Cities where the lot was reportedly used include Shijiazhuang, Langfang, and Dingzhou in Hebei Province, and Chongqing Municipality

In China, these vaccines are routinely given to young children at three, four, five and 18 months of age.

China CDC has reported that children who received these substandard DTP vaccines have been identified through its national electronic Children Immunization Information Management System (CIIMS) and are being revaccinated. Chinese public health authorities have advised that parents or guardians of children can check the vaccination record of DTP on the child vaccination certificate and compare with the vaccine manufacturer and lot number information (listed above) to determine whether recalled DTP vaccine was given to their children. Parents can also consult the inoculation unit in China where the child was immunized to find out whether their child received one or more doses of the recalled vaccine. Parents in China can also call the 12320 health hotline for consultation.

Advice for parents

If from March to October 2017, your child

• resided in Chongqing, Hebei, or Shandong AND
• was younger than two years old AND
• was vaccinated during that time,

please check your child's immunization record.  If you do not have the record, you may be able to obtain it from Chinese public health authorities as described in the paragraph above.

If your child's record indicates that they received one or more DTP vaccine doses any time from March to October 2017 AND

• the vaccine had an affected lot number (see above), OR
• the vaccine was from an affected manufacturer (see above) but the lot number cannot be
  determined, OR
• the manufacturer and lot number cannot be determined,

please contact your child's health care provider to arrange for additional vaccination.

Doses of affected lots may not have provided full protection, and your child may be offered additional doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis-containing vaccine (also referred to as DTaP vaccine), depending on their vaccination history and their current age.

There are no safety concerns related to these vaccines. China has not reported more cases of diphtheria, tetanus or whooping cough in relation to the use of these vaccines.

Advice to immunizers

Consider any DTP doses with the recalled lot numbers - or if the lot number or manufacturer cannot be identified as described above, DTP doses given in Hebei, Shandong or Chongqing from March to October of 2017 - to be invalid doses. Re-immunize children based on their age and the number of valid doses received to date. The US DTaP immunization schedule for young children is posted at
       Routine Schedule 
       DTaP Catch-up schedule
An interrupted series of valid doses does not need to be repeated, even if the recommended interval between doses has been exceeded.

If you have any questions, please contact your local health department or the California Department of Public Health, Immunization Branch by email (immunizationbranch@cdph.ca.gov) or call 510-620-3737.