to think that some vaccines should carry a 'Not Suitable For Vegetarians/Vegans' label?

[Beaaware]

Having read the information on the Prevenar 13 pneumonia patient advice leaflet I was shocked to see that there is no mention of its suitablility for vegetarians/vegans. This vaccine is given to babies, young children from 6 weeks to 5 years and to adults over the age of 50.
According to the patient advice leaflet on this particular vaccine there is no actual list of ingredients other than a mention that the vaccine includes exposure to Bovine derived material and that no evidence exists that any case of vCJD (human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy) has resulted from the administration of any vaccine product.
Of course joe public would not have the faintest idea where the bovine material is sourced from or even if it has been tested for bse, but clearly there is some cause of concern otherwise why do they mention this on the leaflet?
My worry is that there is insufficient labelling to warn people that some vaccines are not suitable for vegetarians, am I being unreasonable? We have the 'Vegetarian label symbol on food packaging but not vaccine packaging, Why?

Beaware, what Arthurfowler said.
I've never seen a post from you apart from mad cow disease, though this one is slightly different to the norm.
You seem to be letting this obsession take over your life.
Get help.

I remember you, welcome back. As a vegetarian I think vaccines not labelling their vegetarian-ess is the least of my worries! I doubt many, if any, are. I check prescriptions are vegetarian and ask for alternatives if not, but it's personal choice really.

I'm sure many vegetarians and vegans would look it up beforehand if they are strictly vegetarian and vegan.

I would have thought a lot of them are tested on animals anyway.

all medicines licensed for use in the UK, including vaccines, require extensive animal testing before they get anywhere near a human....

ryle all of them (medicines and vaccines) are tested on animals. a) because that's the law b) would you really want to take a medicine that has not been properly tested?

I am amazed that the op has only got this to worry about.
being a vegetarian/vegan Is a lifestyle choice, not and alergy

I would imagine many life saving drugs were probably tested on animals.
Things like the many cancer drugs, chemo, tablets for the heart, I could go on and on,
I'ts up to vegetarians and vegans to make the decision whether their principles are worth more than their lives.

most cheese doesn't use animal rennet anymore.

wrt to medicines, yesI agree they should be labelled whether they aren't veggie or vegan.

I've had to take antibiotics back before because they were the capsule version (gelatine used in the capsule part), and the tablets are veggie.
Sometimes, the medicine isn't available in the non-capsule version and I don't have a choice whether to use it.

and medicines don't have to be tested on animals once they have already been accepted and tested (or not)
aspirin wouldn't be in use today if it had been tested on animals.
there are plenty of other drugs that are the same.

see BUAV for more info on that

We label food so why cant we label vaccines, we are injecting substances directly into our blood stream, plenty of info on the side effects but little on what the vaccines are made from.

Thankyou to some of your very interesting replies, had no idea that all medicines that are licensed for use in the UK require extensive animal testing.

nickel ^and medicines don't have to be tested on animals once they have already been accepted and tested (or not)
aspirin wouldn't be in use today if it had been tested on animals.^

not quite. if concerns arise wrt to the safety of a medicine, the authorities can request more (animal) studies to show it is still safe. I don't think aspirin would be authorised today for presciption free use because it has many nasty side effects...

It's an interesting question, that I'd never thought of. Is the information easily available for people to do their own research?

For many vegetarians, of course not all, it is an ethical issue, and I can see that they should be able to find out what's in the vaccine, so they can make an informed choice. My principles would stretch in such a case, but other people are entitled to make a different choice.

Nickel, not sure what you mean about meds not having to be tested on animals once they've already been accepted and tested (or not) ?? All meds have to be tested, it's the (very strict and rigorously monitored) law in the EU.
You may or may not be right about aspirin, but the fact is that while it has horrific gastric effects on some people, it's benefits and costs vastly outweigh the risks in the majority of the population. There would be many, many people not alive today if it weren't for aspirin.

If you have a logical brain cell in your head you would realise it's not possible to make 100% "vegetarian" vaccines. What would they test vegetarian vaccines on? Rhubarb?

So I'm genuinely curious. The vegetarians who wouldn't use a med or a vaccine if it contained animal material...you would be ok with it having been tested on animals? Or not? Because if not, then you'd have to be ok with never using another medicine or vaccine or medical device, ever again?

Oh my goodness. OP is a loon, clearly.

If you were a vege or vegan who was bothered by something like that, you would ask.
I'm vegetarian (for welfare and environmental reasons), as is my DP and my DS, and to be honest, i think it's more important to have a vaccine and protect yourself, your family and the other people around you than to be vegetarian.
All vaccines and medicines are tested on animals at some stage in their development anyway. I've always wanted to ask an antivivisectionist what they would do if their child was in a situation where they needed a lifesaving vaccine or medication that had been tested on animals.

Many vaccines are grown on eggs. That's why the question about egg allergies is sometimes asked before giving them.

All upset about BSE which is virtually eradicated after contiguous cull and with all per 1998 born bovines going in the burner.
If you want to get upset about a bovine disease I suggest you take a look at TB at it's highest level in UK herd since the 1960s and nothing seems to be bringing it under control. Add to that the many many more human cases far greater at this moment in time than the total number of vCJD.

YABU

I think vaccines with HeLa cells should be labelled purely because she deserves proper recognition.

(The evil part of me would add then maybe racists would then die out, but that's another tangent).

Mousy - yes, you're right with that - if an issue is thrown up they do animal test again. I meant if the medicine is in standard use - i should have made that clear.

Ginger - i meant if it's already in the mainstream and accepted for use. that's why i said aspirin, because it's one of the drugs that wouldn't be passed now.

it's why i think it's so important that alternatives are found - the stem cell research etc.