CDC Reinstates Meningitis Booster Shots
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that it would reinstate booster shoots of the HiB (Haemophilus influenza type b) vaccine, which protects children against bacterial meningitis.
In a statement, the agency said it believes manufacturers now have an adequate supply of the vaccine such that booster shots can resume for babies aged 12 to 15 months.
The agency plans to resume the booster shots on July 1.
Health authorities had dropped guidelines for booster shots, which are typically advised for 12 to 15 months olds at low risk of infection, amid dwindling supplies of the vaccine that began in 2007. However, it continued to recommend that children receive the primary series of shots at age 2, 4, and 6 months.
But the data indicates that some children did not receive the third shot in the series, and that may have increased infections in certain parts of the country, the CDC said.
In particular, the agency noted an increase in January of illnesses among children in Minnesota, where five children became seriously ill with pneumonia, meningitis and other HiB-caused diseases, resulting in the death of one child.Â
The CDC said the cases might have been associated with vaccine supply issues.
Meningitis is particularly perilous because it can cause the tissue around the brain and spinal cord to swell.
In 2007, Merck & Co Inc. recalled its HiB vaccines due to production equipment that may not have been properly sterilized. At the time, the company said its PedvaxHIB and COMVAX vaccines would return to the U.S. market in late 2009, but in October they revised the estimates to mid-2010.
But Sanofi Pasteur’s HiB vaccine will increase enough beginning in July to allow reinstatement of the HiB booster for children aged 12 to 15 months, the CDC said. Nevertheless, supplies will not be adequate to have older children who missed their booster come back for the shot, the agency added. Instead, the CDC recommended that children receive the shot at their next routine checkup.
The HiB vaccine was introduced in the early 1990s. Prior to then, some 20,000 U.S. children suffered illnesses caused by HiB bacteria each year. According to the CDC, vaccination has reduced that by 99 percent.
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