Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Notice to Readers: Decreased Availability of Pneumococcal
Conjugate Vaccine
In February 2000, Prevnar, the new 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine (PCV7) marketed by Wyeth Lederle Vaccines (Pearl River, New York) was licensed
for use among infants and young children. CDC recommends this vaccine for all
children aged <2 years and for children aged 2--5 years who are at increased risk for
pneumococcal disease (e.g., children with sickle cell disease or anatomic asplenia,
chronic illness, or who are immunosuppressed, including those with human
immunodeficiency virus infection) (1). In August 2001, deliveries of
PrevnarTM were delayed resulting in shortages for some health-care providers and health departments. Although
the manufacturer projects shipping sufficient vaccine to meet needs throughout
the remainder of 2001 and has sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet U.S.
demand, health-care providers may continue to experience temporary shortages as
supplies are replenished. In the meantime, CDC recommends that all providers defer
the vaccination of children aged >2 years except those aged 2--5 years who are
at increased risk for pneumococcal disease (see previous examples)
(1). Providers should give highest priority to vaccinating all infants aged <12 months and
children aged 1--5 years at increased risk. Catch-up vaccinations for healthy children aged
1--2 years and booster doses for healthy children who have completed the primary
series may be deferred. Records should be kept so that the deferred vaccinations can
be
given when vaccine becomes available.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for
identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text
into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or
the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800.
Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
mmwrq@cdc.gov.