Cuba rules out connection between MMR batch and vaccination-related adverse events
2019-10-17 15:39:43 / web@radiorebelde.icrt.cu
Cuban health authorities assert that so far there is no sign of a MMR batch (a vaccine that protects against mumps, rubella and measles) used in immunization as a cause of adverse events in five children vaccinated at the Betancourt Neninger Polyclinic in Havana.
Rafael Perez Cristia, general director of the Center for State Control of Medicines and Medical Devices (CECMED), told Cubadebate that from last February until October 7, 43.630 doses of the MMR vaccine lot given to the five children detected with symptoms were supplied throughout Cuba.
There are also other batches currently circulating throughout the country and there have been no adverse events, only the related reactions to the vaccine, whose incidence is lower than expected. It can be up to 1% and in Cuba it is only around the 0.04, Perez Cristia stated.
On the other hand, Reinaldo Hevia Pumariega, head of the Inspection and Surveillance Department of CECMED, said that this lot was released for distribution and use because it fulfilled all the quality parameters the vaccine should have, and has been distributed throughout the Public Health system.
For his part, Dr. Francisco Alberto Duran Garcia, national director of Epidemiology, explains MMR began to be applied in the national vaccination scheme in 1986, and "until last year had been applied in the country more than 9.200.000 doses to one- and six-year-old children.
Although Cuba produces eight types of vaccines, the MMR is imported. "We bought it more than five years ago from the Indian producer Serum Institute. It is certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and endorsed by CEDMED", he stated.
Three one-year-old children with complications after vaccination with the drug were diagnosed between October 7 and 8 of this year, and later two more were detected with the same symptoms, according to the official statement issued by the Cuban Health Ministry; on October 9 at night, the one-year-old girl Paloma Dominguez Caballero, admitted to the "Borras Marfan" Hospital, died; the other four children are under multidisciplinary and prioritized medical attention.
The commission created for this case is still investigating in depth. It is currently carrying out very rigorous assessments in order to reach an accurate conclusion.
The National Immunization Program was created in September 1962, is totally free and is aimed at the entire population, with the provision of 11 vaccines covering 13 diseases.
(ACN)
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