Italian, Swiss and Austrian authorities on Wednesday halted the sale of
flu vaccines made by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis.
The Italian health ministry said it has banned the sale and use of
several flu vaccines produced by Novartis pending tests into possible
side-effects. "The health ministry and the Italian medicines agency (AIFA)
have decided to take the precaution of banning immediately the use of the
vaccines" Aggripal, Fluad and Influpozzi, it said.
On the basis of information supplied by Novartis, AIFA "has decided
that it is necessary to carry out further tests regarding the quality and the
safety" of the vaccines, which "can produce collateral effects,"
the statement said. In Switzerland, the national drug agency Swissmedic said it
was ordering the "immediate halt of flu vaccine deliveries from
Novartis," due to "possible impurities".
The alarm was raised after white particles were seen in syringes
carrying the vaccines, Swissmedic said, stressing that they could be nothing
more than little clumps of the vaccine's components. The Swiss decision affects
some 160,000 vaccine doses, Swissmedic said, adding that it was unclear whether
the problem affected vaccines already available in Switzerland.
The freeze on sales of the vaccines and their use was "a simple
precaution" and those who had already been vaccinated for the flu
"had nothing to worry about", it added. In Austria, a spokeswoman for
Novartis's Austrian subsidiary said that "further deliveries of the
Novartis flu vaccines were stopped today (Wednesday)."
She added that the move was a precautionary measure following the moves
by Italy and Switzerland.
Yahoo News
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