A popular birth control pill company issued a voluntary recall on two of its products Tuesday, saying certain lots of the pills may not be effective in preventing pregnancy.
New York-based Pfizer Inc. said approximately one million birth control packets might not have correct amounts of the active contraceptive ingredient in the drug due to a packaging error.
Pfizer could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Cal Poly
Though Pfizer distributes to clinics across the nation, Cal Poly Health Center administrative coordinator Sara Thomson said the recalled drugs, Lo/Ovral pills and Norgestrel and Estradiol pills, are not distributed at the on-campus pharmacy.
Health Center pharmacist June Gelling said because the pharmacy does not sell Pfizer birth control, it will not be taking any action. She said, however, there is a risk to women who have taken the recalled drugs.
“There is (a health risk) anytime when you take a placebo where there’s not enough medicine or no medicine,” Gelling said.
In a statement, Pfizer said there is no immediate health risk to women who took the recalled pills. It does recommend women who relied on the recalled drugs for contraceptive purposes to begin using another method.
One Cal Poly student, who wished to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, said she received a call from her Bay Area clinic approximately two weeks ago about the Pfizer pill. A pharmacist told her she was at risk for being part of the group that received the ineffective birth control pills.
“I was thinking, ‘If I had a baby I could totally sue them and make them pay for it,’” she said.
Though she and her boyfriend were initially “freaking out” at the news, the two were reassured after finding out she is not pregnant.
“I do still trust (the birth control pills),” she said. “I feel like this was a freak accident thing. It was a little jarring just because that was never a possibility in my mind before.”
HealthWorks
Local sexual health care service provider HealthWorks prescribes the generic Lo/Ovral birth control, according to HealthWorks office manager Mercedes Calvert.
“It’s not something we prescribe often,” she said. “We prescribe it to some patients.”
The reason, Calvert said, is that Lo/Ovral is a higher-dosage birth control, and it is more common to start patients off on a lower-dose pill, such as Loestrin. There were two patients prescribed Lo/Ovral through HealthWorks at the time, however.
Calvert said HealthWorks received a letter from Pfizer alerting the health care provider about the defective birth control pills several weeks ago, and immediately contacted the patients, one of which had already received a call from her pharmacy.
“We called them and changed their birth control method,” she said.
They were also given backup emergency contraceptives.
San Luis Obispo Planned Parenthood
The local branch of nationwide sexual health care provider Planned Parenthood does not carry nor distribute Pfizer, according to San Luis Obispo Planned Parenthood vice president of external affairs Christine Lyon.
“We do not carry the brand, so it does not impact our services,” she said.
Lyon said if any women were taking the recalled birth control, there are several preventative measures they should consider taking.
“If any students are using that brand of contraception, they should probably get a pregnancy test if they’ve had sex and not used a condom,” she said. “If the pregnancy test comes back positive, they should make an appointment with student health services or Planned Parenthood.”
The result of the pregnancy test does depend on how recently it occurred to be accurate.
Lyon said, however, that this is something women who used the defective birth control should not deal with alone.
“If they’ve had unprotected sex, they should ideally get in to see an OB (obstetrician) or physician,” she said. “Taking those matters into your own hands, there’s a certain amount of risk involved.”
Pfizer also recalled approximately 19,000 bottles of Lipitor in December 2010. That recall was due to an “uncharacteristic odor related to the bottles,” according to the 2010 press release. The bottles had been supplied by a third-party manufacturer.
Pfizer posted the list of specific recalled birth controls on its website Tuesday. The expiration dates of the drugs listed are between July 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014.
This article was written by Sean McMinn and Karlee Prazak.