The Tampa Bay region appeared little affected Tuesday by the recall of hundreds of thousands of swine flu shots intended for young children, ages 6 months to nearly 3 years.
Hillsborough County had just received last week 200 pre-filled syringes from the batch now being recalled. Health officials said they are safe, just not strong enough. Fewer than 10 of the shots had been administered, said Ryan Pedigo, director for public health preparedness at the Hillsborough County Health Department.
"I think we nipped it in the bud before it got too far," he said.
Pinellas County did not receive any of the recalled vaccines, said Maggie Hall, a spokeswoman for the county health department.
Public health officials are able to track the vaccines through their lot numbers. Florida received about 40,000 of the recalled doses, Pedigo said. Nationally, the recall included about 800,000 shots.
Hillsborough health department officials plan to contact the children's families, but receiving the vaccine isn't thought to be a problem. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention don't think the children even need to be vaccinated again. Children in that age group are supposed to get two doses, spaced about a month apart.
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