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A month into the national pandemic vaccination program the government is still finding a fair amount of resistance to the vaccine in some quarters, and some of that is coming from doctors and healthcare providers.
Today the head of the FDA released a letter to physicians to try to ease their concerns over how the H1N1 vaccine was manufactured, and its safety.
I’ve reproduced the press release, and the opening paragraphs of the letter below.
Follow the link to read the entire letter.
FDA Commissioner Addresses Nation’s Doctors on H1N1 Vaccine
Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, today sent a letter to America’s doctors thanking them for their efforts during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak and providing information on the safety of the 2009 H1N1 vaccines.
"Some of your patients may be asking how the FDA, the manufacturers and the scientific community can have confidence in vaccines that were available just six months after the 2009 H1N1 virus emerged," Dr. Hamburg wrote. "Understanding more about the manufacturing and approval process for these vaccines should help you to answer their questions."
Letter from the Commissioner to Nation’s Doctors on H1N1 Vaccine
November 10, 2009
Dear Healthcare Professional,
I am writing first to thank you for your extraordinary efforts during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak.
As this new infectious disease sweeps through communities across the country, you must juggle your usual patient care responsibilities with a special role in influenza response. Delays in vaccine delivery and the persistence of myths about vaccination have not made your job any easier. Thank you for rising to this public health challenge.
I am also writing to provide information that can be helpful as you talk to patients about the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines -- the best tools we have to prevent severe illness and death caused by the virus.
As the Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), I am pleased to have this opportunity to communicate with you directly at this key moment in time.
The Department of Health and Human Services is working with influenza vaccine manufacturers and state and local public health officials to make these vaccines widely available. So far, more than 41 million doses of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine have been allocated to the states for distribution across the country, and more is becoming available every day.
Some of your patients may be asking how the FDA, the manufacturers, and the scientific community can have confidence in vaccines that were available just six months after the 2009 H1N1 virus emerged. Understanding more about the manufacturing and approval process for these vaccines should help you to answer their questions.
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