(BBC) The use of pork gelatine in three vaccines used by the NHS has been branded “disappointing” by the Vegetarian Society.
Chief executive Lynne Elliot added that the use of animal ingredients in medicines is “upsetting.”
Porcine gelatine is derived from pigs and used in vaccines against flu, shingles, measles, mumps and rubella.
Public Health England said the gelatine is used as a stabiliser and developing an alternative “may never happen.”
The government agency said the gelatine is “highly purified” and manufactured under “strict hygiene and safety regulations.”
