Current Vaccine Shortages & Delays

Last Updated December 3, 2015

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	No
Rotavirus	No
Diphtheria, Tetanus, & Pertussis (DTaP and Tdap)	See note2	See current information about Pentacel Dec 2015
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 note1	See Q&As about monovalent M-M-R vaccinesOct 2009
Influenza	No	See current information about influenza
Varicella/Zoster	No
Hepatitis A	No
Conjugated Meningococcal (MCV4)	No
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)	No

Note1: 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 Jan 2010

Note2: Sanofi Pasteur is experiencing a manufacturing delay with Pentacel (DTaP-IPV/Hib) vaccine, which is anticipated to result in constrained supplies throughout the first half of 2016. However, Sanofi Pasteur has sufficient supplies of the relevant single antigen vaccines (DAPTACEL, ActHIB, and IPOL) to address the anticipated gap in Pentacel supply. New Dec 2015

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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