Pentacel Vaccine: Important Reminders

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners
Date: July 16, 2025
From: Dr. Laura Bourns, Deputy Medical Officer of Health
Subject: Pentacel Vaccine: Important Reminders

Dear Colleagues,

Since the program transition for DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccination from Pediacel® to Pentacel® in July 2024, the manufacturer, Sanofi, has received pharmacovigilance reports of mixing errors with Pentacel®. To address this, Sanofi has developed a resource for health care providers and pharmacies to review

Memo from Sanofi:

Subject: Important Reminders Regarding transition to PENTACEL® and Reconstitution Procedure

Highlights:

PENTACEL® is supplied in two vials:

• One vial of freeze-dried Act-HIB® vaccine, and

• One vial of liquid dose of 0.5 mL QUADRACEL® vaccine

The vial of liquid QUADRACEL® vaccine must be used to reconstitute the vial of freeze-dried Act-HIB® vaccine. After reconstitution of the two components, PENTACEL® can be administered.

Additional Resources:

• Switch to Pentacel® in Publicly Funded Immunization Program: June 2024 Ottawa Public Health Alert was shared regarding the product transition, and highlighted the need for reconstitution of Pentacel®, as per the manufacturer.

• Pentacel ® product monograph: https://www.sanofi.com/assets/countries/canada/docs/products/vaccines/pentacel-en.pdf