Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
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June 17, 2002
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"The Real Biothreat"
New Republic Online (www.tnr.com) (06/06/02); Wildman, Sarah
The United States has shortages in eight of the 11 required vaccines for children, and as a consequence the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised its immunization schedule and some states are loosening vaccination requirements for children going to school this September. The pharmaceutical industry and the CDC say the shortages will be gone by the end of the year, but some immunologists point out that the vaccine supply is "fragile" and that shortages will come again. Diseases rarely seen in the United States are still rampant elsewhere, but since the vaccination levels are still high in the United States, people carrying infectious diseases encounter few nonimmune people to infect. Because vaccines are hard to produce and unprofitable, drug companies are not much interested in making them, and new Food and Drug Administration requirements mean companies must upgrade their facilities. Only four companies now produce vaccines. The Institute of Medicine has proposed a public-private National Vaccine Authority to supervise immunizations nationwide and a contract between private industry and the government, but the industry does not like the idea. Alternatively, the existing National Vaccine Program could be strengthened, but Congress is not currently much interested in providing funds for such ventures.
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