Parents Should Postpone Child Vaccine Booster: CDC

THURSDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Last week's recall ofvaccines against Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) by drug maker Merckhas triggered a shortage of the shots, and that's led the U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention to recommend that parents delay gettingtheir children the standard type B (Hib) vaccine booster.
H. influenzae is a group of bacteria that may cause differenttypes of infections in infants and children. They include ear, eye orsinus infections and pneumonia. A more serious but rare strain can causemeningitis and a life-threatening infection called epiglottitis. H.influenzae is not a cause of the seasonal flu.
On Dec. 13, Merck recalled 1.2 million doses of its Hib vaccines due topotential contamination during the manufacturing process. However, therecalled vaccine does not pose a health threat, CDC spokesman Curtis Allensaid. "It's a precautionary recall. All the recalled lots have beentested, and there is no indication that there is contamination," hestressed.
The agency expects the shortage -- which covers Merck's PedvaxHIB andComvax (Hib/hepatitis B) shots -- to last well into next year. Therecommendation was announced Wednesday in a CDC publication, Morbidityand Mortality Weekly Report: Dispatch.
"The booster dose is being deferred temporally in order to savevaccine," Allen explained. "The deferral of boosters will likely be manymonths, possibly until the end of 2008."
"Parents should continue to get the initial doses of the vaccine,"Allen added.
Allen noted that this delay should not cause an increase in Hib-relatedinfections, "primarily because of the herd immunity that is afforded bythe number of children who are vaccinated." In 2006, 94 percent of allU.S. children had been vaccinated, Allen said, so the chances of Hibspreading to any one child remain low -- a phenomenon doctors call "herdimmunity."
However, the agency is asking that physicians keep track of patientswho did not get the booster shot so they can be notified when the shortageis over, Allen said.
"We are looking at a bubble in time where we have to accommodate whatwe are able to do," said Dr. Jonathan L. Temte, an associate professor offamily medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine inMadison and a spokesman for the American Academy of Family Physicians.
"Parents who have had their children vaccinated within the past weeksor months should not be concerned," Temte said. "As far as we know, thereis no evidence or reports of any untoward effect in a vaccinerecipient."
Temte noted that because so many children have been vaccinated, "thelikelihood of new disease taking off is very low."
The Hib vaccine is recommended for all children under 5 and is usuallygiven in a three-shot series, starting at 2 months of age. The Hib boosteris recommended for children at 12 to 15 months. The delay in getting thebooster will continue until the vaccine supply improves, the CDC said.
There is one exception to the recommendation, however: The agencyrecommends that children at high risk for Hib disease continue to receivethe booster dose. Children falling into that category include AmericanIndians, Alaska Natives and children with conditions such as asplenia,sickle cell disease, HIV, immunodeficiency conditions and certaincancers.
The CDC took this action in consultation with the its AdvisoryCommittee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatricsand the American Academy of Family Physicians.