Importance of Inspecting Vaccines for Particulate Matter or Discoloration Prior to Use

Merck Sharp & Dohme (I.A.) Corp (Singapore Branch), in consultation with the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), would like to reinforce the importance of examining all vaccines for particulate matter and discoloration prior to use. In very rare cases (< 1 in 6 million overall vials), the vials of certain vaccines, namely M-M-R® II (measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccine live), PNEUMOVAX® 23 (pneumococcal vaccine polyvalent) and HBvaxPRO® (hepatitis B vaccine [recombinant] thimerosal-free, MSD), may contain brown particles derived from the plastic packaging used to cover empty vials during shipment to the manufacturing site. There is no impact expected to the sterility or the potency of the vaccines. However, small quantities of particulate matter may potentially lead to injection-site reactions if the material is not noticed prior to the injection.

 
 
Healthcare professional, Therapeutic Products
Published:

Dear Healthcare Professional Letters

12 Dec 2019

Only abstracts of the Dear Healthcare Professional Letters (DHCPL) are provided on this website. Details of the letters can be found on the MOH Alert System, which is accessible via the Health Professionals Portal (HPP). HPP is a one-stop portal for all healthcare professionals in Singapore. Dentists, medical doctors and pharmacists may access HPP at https://www.moh.gov.sg/hpp/, and follow the procedures below to access the MOH Alert system.

Step 1: On the top navigation ribbon of webpage, select 'For Healthcare Professionals' followed by 'Health Professionals Portal' and click on the choice of profession. User will be redirected to the specific HPP webpage for the selected profession.

Step 2: Click on the Restricted Content icon on the left panel of webpage and login via SingPass.

Step 3: Click on the MOH Alert icon under ‘Applications’ section

Step 4: Click on the Drug Alert tab to view the DHCPLs.