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.

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

Step 1: Select your profession under ‘For Healthcare Professionals’.

Step 2: Click on ‘Useful links’.

Step 3: Click on ‘MOH Alert’ and log in via Singpass.

Step 4: Click on ‘Drug Alerts’ or ‘Med Device Alerts’ to view the DHCPLs.