Merck Is Recalling a Batch of Gardasil Because of Glass Shards

Don’t flip out, but there’s been a voluntary recall of a botched batch of Gardasil. CBS News reports that Merck, which makes the vaccine, is asking orgs that received part of lot J007354 (shipped between late August and early October) to send it back.

That’s because there is a very small chance there might be tiny shards of glass inside:

A total of 743,360 vials are included in the recall, but only about 10 may contain the shards, Merck estimated, which are small enough to go through a needle. The glass particles may have entered the vaccine when something broke during the manufacturing process.

The CDC says there’ve been no reports of injuries, the worst case scenario is a little irritation at the injection site and there shouldn’t be any longer-term side effects. Which, of course, beats cervical cancer.

Even so, you can bet your ass that Merck is getting some very vexed emails from public health officials, who’ve already got enough headaches on the vaccination front, God knows.