Vaccine supplies dwindle for many diseases

The recent shortage of flu shots received much attention, but vaccine stocks have also dwindled in the past few years for such diseases as meningitis, mumps, measles and diphtheria.

The problems with supply are blamed on a number of interrelated factors — the low prices the federal government pays for childhood vaccines, the dwindling number of vaccine producers, and others.

For doctors, regardless of the cause, the effect is the same. Last fall, New York pediatrician Dr. Elihu Sussman ordered 40 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), which protects against deadly meningitis, bloodstream infections and pneumonia in young children.

But after waiting a month, he received only five.

“Wyeth [the sole manufacturer of PCV] said there were problems in the manufacturing process and that they were allocating on the basis of [a provider’s] orders in the last six months,” Dr. Sussman said in a telephone interview,

“We raised a whole lot of stink [about the allocation policy], and Wyeth wound up releasing to me the other 35 doses I ordered … but they told me not to call again” for several months with any further orders, he added.

Dr. Sussman is not alone.

Repeated warnings

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announced Dec. 19 that PCV Prevnar is being apportioned. The academy further warned that there could be changes in the vaccination schedule against the life-threatening infections if widespread vaccine shortages occur.

These types of infections annually strike 250 children per 100,000, ranging in age from 6 months to 2 years.

Less than a week later, Wyeth announced its vaccine production was adequate, and it released 1.4 million doses of Prevnar, according to Dr. Keith Powell, a member of AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases.

He noted that research has shown that the vaccine, which was introduced in 2000 and costs about $40 per dose for the recommended four-dose treatment, was responsible for a 69 percent decrease in invasive diseases in children under age 1 in 2001.

“Wyeth now expects to be able to meet demand, but it’s run into some problems with bottling that could mean continued distribution problems,” said Dr. Powell, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Akron, Ohio.

Douglas Petkus, a Wyeth spokesman said, “There was a bottleneck over time, but we are supplying 100 percent of a [provider’s] historical monthly average of orders.”

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