Vaccines and Preventable Diseases:
Current Vaccine Shortages & Delays
Last Updated May 5, 2009
On this page:
This web page contains the latest national information about vaccine supplies and provides guidance to healthcare providers who are facing vaccine shortages or delays.
*Note: Only those vaccines included on the recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule are included in this update.
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 | See note 1,2 |
No Change in Routine Recommendation for children or adults. Updated status on US supply of pediatric hepatitis B vaccine  (.DOC 29KB) New May 5, 2009 |
| Rotavirus | No | |
| Diphtheria, Tetanus, & Pertussis (DTaP and Tdap) | No | |
| Td | No | |
| Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) | See note 3 | Hib Vaccine - Q&A for Providers about Hib Vaccine Supply and Hib Vaccination Coverage Apr 23, 2009 Letter to Providers about Hib vaccination See MMWR on Invasive Haemophilus influenzae Type B Disease in Five Young Children -- Minnesota, 2008 Feb 9, 2009 See MMWR on Continued Shortage of Haemophilus influenzae Type b (Hib) Nov 25, 2008 Flyer: What to do when giving the Hib vaccine during shortage See Q&A on Hib vaccine supply & recall and guidance for providers and patients |
| Pneumococcal Conjugated (PCV) | No | |
| Pneumococcal Polysaccharide (PPV) | No | |
| Inactivated Polio (IPV) | No | |
| Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR) | See note 4 |
See Q&As about Monovalent M-M-R Vaccines During Supply Shortages Feb 9, 2009 |
| Influenza | No | Current information about influenza, see www.cdc.gov/flu |
| Varicella/Zoster | See note 5 |
No change in Routine Recommendation. Zoster vaccine is available for ordering; however, the manufacturer is experiencing shipping delays. July 11, 2008 |
| Hepatitis A | See note 6 |
No change in Routine Recommendation.
|
| Conjugated Meningococcal (MCV4) | No | |
| Human Papillomavirus (HPV) | No | |
(PDF 434KB)
) Note1: In February 2009, both Merck and GSK experienced an inability to fill orders for pediatric Hepatitis B vaccine, resulting in backorders. CDC has released doses from its monovalent pediatric Hepatitis B vaccine stockpiles to each manufacturer to support private and public sector vaccine usage through March. Merck expects supplies of pediatric Recombivax HB® to be limited during the remainder of 2009 and does not expect to return to a full supply until some time in 2010. GSK expects to be able to meet the US market demand for monovalent Hepatitis B vaccine through the end of May with its pediatric Hepatitis B vaccine (Pediatric Engerix-B®), and is working closely with CDC to determine how much additional monovalent Hepatitis B product can be supplied to the US market during the second half of 2009. March 2, 2009
Note2: In December 2008, Merck communicated with CDC that it expected to deplete available adult and dialysis formulations of their hepatitis B vaccine, Recombivax HB® in the first quarter of 2009. Once depleted, these formulations will be unavailable for the remainder of 2009. Supply of GSK's Adult hepatitis B vaccine (Adult Engerix-B®) and Adult hepatitis A/hepatitis B combination vaccine (Twinrix®) is sufficient to meet demand for routine adult usage of this vaccine as well as CDC's ongoing High Risk Adult Hepatitis B Initiative. Updated March 2, 2009
Note3: Merck is working to restore market availability of Hib-containing vaccines, PedvaxHIB® and Comvax®, but the availability of these vaccines may be subject to a further delay, with Merck's current estimate of availability being mid to late 2009. In response to the shortage, CDC and AAP recommend deferral of the booster dose at 12 through 15 months of age except in high risk groups. Sanofi pasteur currently is providing sufficient Hib vaccine ActHIB® and Pentacel) to cover the 3 dose series through mid 2009, and has developed a supply plan to support reinstatement of the booster dose some time in mid 2009, using a combination of their Hib-containing products. CDC will work closely with sanofi pasteur to determine available supply and options for catch up. Updated March 2, 2009
Note4: In December 2008, Merck communicated with CDC that it was not producing or taking orders for the monovalent vaccines ATTENUVAX® (measles vaccine), MUMPSVAX® (mumps vaccine) and MERUVAX® (rubella vaccine). Merck has not yet made a decision about the future availability of these three monovalent vaccines. Updated March 2, 2009
Note5: There is adequate supply of Varivax® (varicella vaccine) to fully implement the recommended 2-dose immunization schedule, including catch-up, for all age groups. ProQuad® (MMRV) will not be available in 2009. Zostavax® (zoster vaccine) is available for ordering; however, the manufacturer is experiencing shipping delays. Merck anticipates a return to normal shipping times for Zostavax® in mid-2009. Merck vaccine supply status including specific shipping status information for zoster vaccine is updated weekly and may be found at www.merckvaccines.com 
. Updated March 2, 2009
Note6: Merck & Co previously had experienced production delays that resulted in temporarily not accepting orders for Pediatric and Adult hepatitis A vaccines (Pediatric & Adult VAQTA®). As of December 1, 2008, Merck's Pediatric/Adolescent formulation of hepatitis A vaccine, VAQTA®, is available for ordering. Merck estimates that the Adult formulation of VAQTA® may be available in the second quarter 2009. GSK production and supply of their Pediatric and Adult hepatitis A vaccine (Pediatric & Adult Havrix®) and their Adult hepatitis A/hepatitis B combination vaccine (Twinrix®) are in adequate supply to meet demand. Updated March 2, 2009
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 at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/international/relres.html
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 page on the NCIRD web site www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/shortages/ is updated as needed to provide public information on vaccine shortages and/or delays.
The FDA's web page on Biological Product Shortages www.fda.gov/cber/shortage/shortage.htm provides additional information regarding regulatory issues related to vaccine supply.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
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
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
- Archive: Vaccine shortages in the past
Information about vaccines shortages and delays in past years
Other Shortages and Delays
- On June 30, CDC's Travelers' Health web section updated its yellow fever vaccine supply statement. July 2008
- On August 29, CDC's Rabies site updated its status on the rabies vaccine supply. Sept. 2008
Links to non-federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
Content last reviewed on February 10, 2009
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases