Vaccines: Vac-Gen/Shortages/main page

Vaccines: Vac-Gen/Shortages/main page

Chart of Vaccines* in Delay or Shortage

(Vaccines are listed in order used for the Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule.)

National Vaccine Supply Shortages

Vaccine	Shortage	Temporary Change From Routine Recommendation
Hepatitis B
Rotavirus	No Updated May 27, 2010
Diphtheria, Tetanus, & Pertussis (DTaP and Tdap)	See note 1 NEW April 25 and May 11, 2012	No change in Routine Recommendations
Td	No
Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)	No
Pneumococcal Conjugated (PCV)	No
Pneumococcal Polysaccharide (PPV)	No
Inactivated Polio (IPV)	No
Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR)	See note 2	See Q&As about monovalent M-M-R vaccines Oct 26, 2009
Influenza	No	Current information about influenza, see www.cdc.gov/flu
Varicella/Zoster	No
Hepatitis A	No	No change in Routine Recommendation
Conjugated Meningococcal (MCV4)	No
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)	No

Note¹: Availability of Sanofi Pasteur's Pentacel® and DAPTACEL® vaccines is currently reduced and it is anticipated that this will continue throughout March of 2013. Sanofi Pasteur’s single antigen inactivated polio and Hib vaccines are in sufficient supply to address historic usage of Pentacel® as well as the single antigen vaccines. Regarding DTaP, production and supply of GSK's single antigen and combination vaccines is currently sufficient to address anticipated supply gaps for DTaP-containing products. Updated October 5, 2012
See sample schedules using single component and combination vaccines in Guidance for Vaccinating Children during the 2012 Pentacel® and Daptacel® Shortage (218 KB, 4 pages) . NEW May 11, 2012
Note²: Based on input from the ACIP, professional societies, scientific leaders, and customers on October 26, 2009 Merck announced the company has decided not to resume production of ATTENUVAX® (Measles Virus Vaccine Live), MUMPSVAX® (Mumps Virus Vaccine Live), and MERUVAX®II (Rubella Virus Vaccine Live). This science-based decision will support vaccination of the largest group of appropriate individuals. Updated January 27, 2010

Why are there vaccine shortages?

In the United States shortages of many vaccines in the recommended childhood immunization schedule occurred in the past. Some of these shortages were widespread while others were localized. Reasons for these shortages were multi-factorial and included companies leaving the vaccine market, manufacturing or production problems, and insufficient stockpiles. Consequently, some shortages were only specific to one manufacturer.
Shortages of several of these vaccines necessitated temporary changes in recommendations for their use. During that period, summary information about the shortages including projected duration and recommendations for temporary changes in the childhood immunization schedule were provided.

Who can I contact to answer my questions?

• Questions including those dealing with changes in child care and school requirements necessitated by vaccine supply problems when they occur can be answered by State Health Department immunization programs.
  
• General immunization questions can be answered by
  The CDC Contact Center at 1-800-CDC-INFO
  (1-800-232-4636) English and Español

How often will this information be updated?
This vaccines shortages page on CDC's Vaccines & Immunizations site is updated as needed to provide public information on vaccine shortages and/or delays.
The FDA's web page on Biological Product Shortages provides additional information regarding regulatory issues related to vaccine supply.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Those acronyms and abbrevations not already spelled out above include
AAFP - American Academy of Family Physicians
AAP - American Academy of Pediatrics
ACIP - Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
FDA - Food and Drug Administration
GAO - United States General Accounting Office
GSK - GlaxoSmithKline
MMRV - Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella combination vaccine
MMWR - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
NCIRD - National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
TTY - teletypewriter
Other acronyms

Related Information

• Status of Licensure and Recommendations for New Vaccines
  
• ACIP Provisional Vaccine Recommendations 
  
• Influenza Vaccination Recommendations 
  
• Childhood & Adolescent Immunization Schedules 
  
• Adult Immunization Schedule
  
• Standards for Immunization Practices for children & adolescents and adults (90 KB, 7 pages)

Other Shortages and Delays

• On September 7, 2012, CDC’s Rabies site updated its status on the rabies vaccine supply.
  
• On June 30, 2008, CDC's Travelers' Health web section updated its yellow fever vaccine supply statement.
  
• Hib (2007-09)
  
• Menactra (2006)
  
• Flu (2004)
  
• Prevnar (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004)
  
• Varivax (2001, 2002)
  
• MMR (2001, 2002)
  
• Tetanus (2000, 2001)
  
• DTaP (2000, 2001)