From the WA State Dept of Health - Mercury Limits Law Temporarily Suspended
September 25, 2009
Dear Immunization Partners:
Mercury limits law temporarily suspended
Secretary of Health Mary Selecky has temporarily suspended Washington’s
limit on the amount of mercury (thimerosal) in H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine
allowed for pregnant women and children younger than three years old. The
six-month suspension is effective September 23, 2009 through March 23, 2010
and applies only to H1N1 vaccines. It does not apply to seasonal flu
vaccine.
As a precaution, Washington state law limits the amount of mercury that can
be in vaccines for pregnant women and children under three. The secretary of
health can suspend the law when there is a shortage of vaccine or during a
disease outbreak - both criteria apply to the H1N1 vaccine. Some H1N1
vaccine will be mercury-free, but it may not be available at all times and
there may be limited amounts. This could stop children younger than three
and pregnant women who want the vaccine from getting it. H1N1 vaccination
will be voluntary. Pregnant women and children under three are two of the
priority groups to get H1N1 vaccine first because they are at high risk for
serious complications if they’re infected with H1N1 (swine flu) virus.
Notification requirements
It is important to note that when the mercury limits are suspended, the law
requires that certain groups be told they are getting a vaccine containing
more mercury than is usually permitted. This notification requirement
applies to pregnant or lactating women and parents or guardians of children
under the age of 18 getting the vaccine. There is no single notification
method required; the Department of Health has developed a
<http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/immunize/documents/samplenotice.pdf> sample
notification form to help you with this. There is also a chart that you can
use providing
<http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/immunize/documents/providerchart.pdf> guidance on
screening patients to determine who needs to be notified. The notification
form and other information on the temporary suspension of the mercury limits
for H1N1 vaccine are available online (
<http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/immunize/providers/h1n1-thimerosal.htm>
http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/immunize/providers/h1n1-thimerosal.htm).
H1N1 Vaccine information
We expect H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine to be available in early October. Health
care providers who pre-registered to get H1N1 vaccine were faxed provider
agreements this week. The H1N1 Provider Agreements must be returned to your
local health agency listed on the agreement. All providers participating in
the Washington State Childhood Vaccine Program were automatically
pre-registered and were faxed agreements. If a provider does not want to get
vaccine, there is a place on the agreement to indicate they do not want to
participate. A signed provider agreement is not a guarantee that a provider
will receive this vaccine. Final decisions on which providers will receive
vaccine will be made by each local health agency. Pre-registration
information is available online (
<http://www.doh.wa.gov/swineflu/h1n1reg.htm>
http://www.doh.wa.gov/swineflu/h1n1reg.htm).
Vaccine listserv
The State Department of Health Immunization Program CHILD Profile is
starting a listserv to share important vaccine information directly with
health care providers and community partners. You can sign up online (
<http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A0=WA-IMMUNIZATION-INFO>
http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A0=WA-IMMUNIZATION-INFO).
<http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/Immunize/default.htm>
http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/Immunize/default.htm
Public Health: Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington
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