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February 13, 2002
“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.
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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.