Issue Number
126
November 10, 1999
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- New "Corrections Page" on the Immunization Action
Coalition's website alerts readers to incorrect information in Coalition
publications
- CORRECTION: "Ask the Experts," General Vaccine Questions,
fall/winter 1999-2000 issue of "NEEDLE TIPS"
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November 10, 1999
NEW "CORRECTIONS PAGE" ON THE IMMUNIZATION ACTION
COALITION'S WEBSITE ALERTS READERS TO INCORRECT
INFORMATION IN COALITION PUBLICATIONS
Dear Friends of the Coalition:
All of us at the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) work tirelessly to ensure
the accuracy of the information we make available. As part of this effort, we
have created a "Corrections Page" to serve as the central location for all important changes to items we have published in our
two print publications, "NEEDLE TIPS and the Hepatitis B Coalition News" and "VACCINATE
ADULTS!," as well as in IAC EXPRESS, our Internet news and announcement service, and
on our website, http://www.immunize.org
Our procedure will be to publish in IAC EXPRESS notices of corrections to our publications and to present them
chronologically on the "Corrections Page."
We welcome your "eagle-eyed" oversight of the content of our publications. If
you believe you have found an error, please notify us as soon as possible so
that we may evaluate the item immediately and determine the need for a formal "correction."
On the "Corrections Page" you will find only "serious" corrections for example, those that
misrepresent fact and/or could result in clinical errors. Though we are also concerned about correcting
administrative information such as contact names and phone numbers presented in our publications,
these types of revisions will probably not appear on the "Corrections Page." Whether an error is big or small, we always want
to know whenever you spot one.
To ensure that everyone receives the most up-to-date information, we ask that
you encourage your colleagues and anyone else who might receive IAC publications to
sign up for IAC EXPRESS. (http://www.immunize.org/express/)
Once they have subscribed, they will begin to receive any notices of corrections to Coalition publications as soon
as these changes are made available. To subscribe to IAC EXPRESS, send an e-mail message to express@immunize.org and enter
the word SUBSCRIBE in the "Subject:" field. (It is not necessary to type any
information in the "Message" block.)
With your help, we will continue to provide you with the most accurate information possible.
Sincerely,
Deborah L. Wexler, MD
Executive Director
To visit the new "Corrections Page" on IAC's website, go to: http://www.immunize.org/corrections/index.htm
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November 8, 1999
CORRECTION: "ASK THE EXPERTS," GENERAL VACCINE QUESTIONS, FALL/WINTER 1999-2000 ISSUE OF "NEEDLE TIPS"
"ASK THE EXPERTS" CORRECTION
In the fall/winter 1999-2000 issue of "NEEDLE TIPS and the Hepatitis B Coalition News," there is incorrect information
in the answer to an "Ask the Experts" question appearing under "General Questions" on page 15. The
answer provided by Dr. William Atkinson, medical epidemiologist at the
National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was incorrect about the components of the
pentavalent vaccine for infants in use in Canada. Dr. Atkinson reported that the combination vaccine used in
Canada contains whole cell pertussis vaccine when, in fact, it does not. The
revised answer which follows should be substituted for the original answer that
appeared in "NEEDLE TIPS."
THE QUESTION READS:
"I've heard there is a pentavalent vaccine for infants in use in Canada. When
will a pentavalent vaccine be available in the U.S.?"
THE REVISED ANSWER:
"The Canadian vaccine (PENTACEL distributed by Pasteur Merieux Connaught, Canada) is a combination of acellular
pertussis, diphtheria, and tetanus toxoids, Hib and inactivated polio vaccines. In the United States, trials
of new combination vaccines are in progress and some of these may be licensed in the future. SmithKline Beecham has
recently applied to the Food and Drug Administration for approval of a new DTaP-IPV-Hep B combination
vaccine."
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The current pentavalent vaccine used for primary immunization of infants in all
Canadian provinces and territories is a combination of acellular pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus
toxoids, and Hib and inactivated polio vaccines (PENTACEL distributed by Pasteur Merieux Connaught, Canada).
PENTACEL was licensed in May 1997 and first introduced into the infant vaccination schedule by some jurisdictions in July 1997, and
fully incorporated into the infant schedule by all provinces and territories by April
1998. The pentavalent vaccine which contained whole cell pertussis vaccine is
no longer distributed in Canada.
To visit the new "Corrections Page" on IAC's website, go to: http://www.immunize.org/corrections/index.htm
To obtain the Web version (HTML format) of "Ask the Experts" that appeared in the fall/winter 1999-2000 issue of "NEEDLE
TIPS," go to: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n22/exprt22.htm |
