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.
Prevnar, a vaccine for infants against
pneumococcal diseases, is in short supply due to Wyeth-Ayerst failing to meet
increasing worldwide demand for the product, which is given to young children in
four doses that each cost about C$140. Children in Alberta who were born on or
after July 1 will receive the vaccine as part of its immunization program, but
children born earlier are facing difficulty getting all four doses of the
vaccine. Alberta Health spokesperson John Tuckwell asserts that infants who wait
a few extra weeks before received Prevnar will face no significant health
problems. Alberta is the first province in Canada to offer Prevnar as part of
its childhood immunization schedule, and that is because the province
experienced several deadly outbreaks of meningococcal diseases over the past
three years.
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.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"