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February 13, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Panel Looks for Solutions to National Vaccine Shortage”

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (02/11/02); Carter, Janelle

Severe shortages of at least eight of 11 vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are forcing doctors to turn away parents seeking the vaccines for their children.  The concern is that parents who are turned away due to the shortages will not return when supplies are available, thereby leaving their children unprotected from chickenpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, and other illnesses, warns the national immunization program director of the CDC, Walter Orenstein.  Solutions to the problem include creating vaccine stockpiles and offering drug companies financial incentives to research and develop new vaccines, says a federal panel.  The General Accounting Office has investigated the vaccine shortages and determined that some of the causes of the shortage include increased demand of Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine Prevnar and the withdrawal of Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories from the tetanus vaccination market, leaving Aventis as the only tetanus vaccine supplier.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.