Issue
Number 328
August 5, 2002
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- CDC announces end of temporary shortage of varicella
vaccine
- CDC reports on vaccination coverage levels among U.S.
children in 2001
- Hepatitis B Foundation adds Vietnamese informational
chapter to its website
- Early announcement: Louisiana's Shots for Tots
Conference is set for December 5-6 in New Orleans
- CDC studies impact of temporary DTaP shortage in Puerto
Rico
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August 5, 2002
CDC ANNOUNCES END OF TEMPORARY SHORTAGE OF VARICELLA VACCINE
On August 2, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
published "Notice to Readers: Resumption of Routine Schedule for Varicella
Vaccine" in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
The entire text of this important Notice reads as follows:
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Supplies of varicella vaccine (VARIVAX[R]) in the United States have become
sufficient to permit the resumption of the routine schedule as recommended
by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) (1-3). Childcare
and school attendance provisions requiring children to receive the varicella
vaccine should be reinstituted.
A temporary shortage of varicella vaccine in the United States resulted from
a voluntary interruption of manufacturing operations by Merck & Co., Inc.,
the only U.S. manufacturer of varicella vaccine (4). During the vaccine
shortage, ACIP recommended the delay of the routine childhood varicella
vaccine dose from age 12-18 months until age 18-24 months (1,2) and made
additional recommendations for prioritizing use in the event of a persistent
shortage (4).
Health-care providers should review the vaccination status of their patients
and administer varicella vaccine as appropriate. Recall programs for
deferred unvaccinated persons should be instituted. CDC will continue to
monitor vaccine supply. Updates about vaccine supply and shortages are
available at http://www.cdc.gov/nip.
References
- CDC. Prevention of varicella:
recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
MMWR 1996;45 (No. RR-11).
- CDC. Prevention of varicella: updated
recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
MMWR 1999;48 (No. RR-6).
- CDC. Recommended childhood immunization
schedule--United States, 2002. MMWR 2002;51:31-3.
- CDC. Shortage of varicella and measles,
mumps and rubella vaccines and interim recommendations from the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR 2002;51:190-1.
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To obtain the complete text of this Notice to Readers online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5130a5.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue of MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5130.pdf
HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR:
To obtain a free electronic subscription to the "Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report" (MMWR), visit CDC's MMWR website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr Select
"Free MMWR Subscription" from the menu at the left of the screen. Once you
have submitted the required information, weekly issues of the MMWR and all
new ACIP statements (published as MMWR's "Recommendations and Reports") will
arrive automatically by email.
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August 5, 2002
CDC REPORTS ON VACCINATION COVERAGE LEVELS AMONG U.S. CHILDREN IN 2001
On August 2, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
published "National, State, and Urban Area Vaccination Coverage Levels Among
Children Aged 19-35 Months--United States, 2001" in the Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). According to the article, "estimated
vaccination coverage differed substantially among states" in 2001, ranging
from 81.7 percent in Rhode Island to 63.2 percent in New Mexico. Among urban
areas, the highest coverage rate was achieved in Jefferson County, Alabama,
at 79.5 percent, and the lowest was in Detroit, Michigan, at 57.7 percent.
According to the article, the findings "indicate a substantial nationwide
increase in coverage with 1 or more doses of varicella vaccine (VAR),
generally steady coverage for other vaccines nationwide, and wide
variability in coverage among the states and urban areas. . . ."
The article includes two tables. Table 1 shows nationwide coverage levels
for individual vaccines from 1997 through 2001, not including pneumococcal
vaccine, which was first recommended by the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP) in October 2000 and which will be included in
National Immunization Survey (NIS) estimates next year. Table 2 shows
estimated coverage levels by state and selected urban areas.
To obtain the complete text of the article online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5130a2.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue of MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5130.pdf
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August 5, 2002
HEPATITIS B FOUNDATION ADDS VIETNAMESE INFORMATIONAL CHAPTER TO ITS WEBSITE
The Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF) has offered unique web-page articles about
hepatitis B for Chinese and Korean "language chapters" provide accessible
and culturally appropriate information for people in high-risk ethnic
communities. An English version of each chapter is available for use by
family members or health care providers in discussing the material.
Each language chapter includes text written by a high-profile community
physician. The Vietnamese chapter features a section by Dr. Huy N. Trinh, a
gastroenterologist in San Jose, California, with a specialty in hepatitis B
and liver cancer.
To view the Vietnamese chapter web page, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/v
To print a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of the Vietnamese chapter, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/v/0614HBF1VIE.pdf
For the English version of the Vietnamese
chapter, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/v.english
For more information, contact the Hepatitis B Foundation by email at
info@hepb.org or phone at (215)
489-4900.
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August 5, 2002
EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT: LOUISIANA'S SHOTS FOR TOTS CONFERENCE IS SET FOR
DECEMBER 5-6 IN NEW ORLEANS
The 11th annual "Shots for Tots" conference will take place at the Astor
Crowne Plaza Hotel in the French District of New Orleans, Louisiana, from
noon on December 5 through 3:30 p.m. on December 6, 2002.
The conference will include speakers, workshops, exhibits, and an
"icebreaker" with food and music. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Ray
Strikas from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Contact and credit hours will be available pending approval by credentialing
offices.
The registration fee is $15. You can call Gina Deris at (504) 483-1900 for a
registration form or print one from the "Shots for Tots" website at:
http://www.shotsfortots.com/html/registration.html
Registrations should be sent to:
Gina Deris
Coordinator
Immunization Program
4747 Earhart Boulevard
Suite 107
New Orleans, LA 70125
For more information on "Shots for Tots," call (800) 251-BABY [(800)
251-2229), email
info@shotsfortots.com, or go to:
http://www.shotsfortots.com
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August 5, 2002
CDC STUDIES IMPACT OF TEMPORARY DTaP SHORTAGE IN PUERTO RICO
On August 2, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
published "Impact of Vaccine Shortage on Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and
Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Coverage Rates Among Children Aged 24
Months--Puerto Rico, 2002" in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
This article is the first to examine the effect of the DTaP shortage, which
began in the spring of 2001, on vaccination coverage levels. While DTaP3
(third dose) vaccination coverage among Puerto Rican children aged 24 months
was similar in 2001 and 2002, according to the article (98.3 percent and
99.1 percent, respectively), coverage for DTaP4 (fourth dose) was only 31.8
percent in 2002, down significantly from 95.8 percent in 2001.
As stated in the Editorial Note to the article, "The decrease in DTaP4
coverage among children in Puerto Rico might herald similar findings for
other parts of the United States. . . . Because children included in NIS
[National Immunization Survey] are slightly older than those included in
PRIS [Puerto Rico Immunization Survey] and the larger NIS sample size
results in a 6-month delay between data collection and reporting of results,
declines in DTaP4 coverage levels in other parts of the United States
monitored by NIS might not be recorded until late 2002 at the earliest. The
maximum impact of the shortage might not be recorded until the second half
of 2003, when all children in the cohort surveyed will be old enough to have
received DTaP4 during the shortage period."
To obtain the complete text of the article online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5130a3.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue of MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5130.pdf
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