http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20020711_939.html
Shortage of Two Childhood Vaccines, One for Measles and One for Diptheria, Is Over, U.S. Says
The Associated Press
A T L A N T A, July 11 — Shortages of two childhood vaccines one to protect against measles, mumps and rubella, and a second to fight diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough are over, the government said Thursday.
Both vaccines have been in short supply since 2000 because some drug companies had dropped out of the market and others had slowed production to upgrade their plants or fix manufacturing problems.
But supplies of the shots commonly called the MMR and DTP vaccines are now adequate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Health officials had expected the shortages to be corrected this summer.
The CDC announced the end of the shortage in a bulletin to doctors Thursday, urging them to resume the normal vaccine schedules for their patients.
But to prevent a run on the vaccines, the agency is not yet recommending that doctors urge parents to bring their children in to make up any shots they missed.
There are still shortages of childhood vaccines against chicken pox and pneumococcal infection.
Parents are supposed to get MMR shots for their children at 12 to 15 months and again at 4 to 6 years. During the shortage, the CDC recommended postponing the second shot.
The DTP vaccine is usually given to children in five doses over their first 4 to 6 years. The CDC had suggested parents put off the fourth and fifth doses while supplies were low.
Health officials never recommended that the shots be put off altogether, because the diseases they fight strike particularly hard against infants and toddlers.
Three vaccines against DTP are produced in the United States: Tripedia and Daptacel, marketed by Aventis Pasteur, and Infanrix, made by GlaxoSmithKline. Daptacel won federal approval just two months ago, helping to ease the shortage.
Merck is the only U.S. maker of the MMR vaccine.
On the Net:
CDC vaccine supply updates:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip
