Hib vaccine shortage at clinics to continue until mid-2009

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Hib vaccine shortage at clinics to continue until mid-2009
By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, December 28, 2008

RAF MILDENHALL, England — An essential infant vaccine will continue to be in short supply at stateside and overseas military clinics until mid-2009 due to the drug manufacturer’s inability to resume full-scale production after a recall last year.

Merck & Co. Inc. announced in October that it would not be able to resume full-scale production until June or July of the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, a medicine it had to recall more than 1 million doses of in December 2007 because of contamination concerns.

Merck, one of two companies that manufacture the vaccine in the States, is awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding procedures for manufacturing the vaccine before it can resume production, said Dr. Lance Rodewald, head of the Immunization Services Division at the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For now, Sanofi Pasteur is the only company manufacturing the Hib vaccine.

There has been no reported increase in the Hib disease among the infant population in connection to the vaccine shortage, Rodewald said.

The Army’s European Regional Medical Command is following CDC guidance with its vaccine allotment, delaying booster doses to ensure that all newborns get the first few shots, according to spokesman Steve Davis.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59668