WASHINGTON — Despite a recommendation to prioritize 11- to 12-year-olds, distribution of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine was especially high among 18-year-olds and was evenly distributed among 11- to 17-year-olds during its first year on the market, Dr. Gregory Wallace reported at a meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.
The rationale for the recommendation was to help establish an adolescent vaccine visit, and was not generated because of an increased disease risk among 11- to 12-year-olds, explained Dr. Wallace, chief of the Vaccine Supply & Assurance Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vaccine is also recommended for adolescents entering high school who have not been previously vaccinated, as well as for college freshmen living in dorms.
Demand for the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4), marketed as Menactra, was high starting in June 2005 after the publication and promotion of the vaccination recommendations by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The demand was initially highest for 18-year-olds, and the peak months were June and July 2005. The high demand then decreased during the fall of 2005, as did patients' and parents' concerns about the vaccine supply.
The overall vaccine distribution rate from March 2005 to March 2006 was approximately 10% for 11- to 17-year-olds, but it approached 16% among 18-year-olds, based on physicians' billing-claims data provided by the vaccine's manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur USA.
About 4.2 million doses were distributed between March 2005 and March 2006. Although the manufacturer projects that 6 million doses will be available for 2006–2007, the amount currently available for the summer months of 2006 is approximately the same as last year, Dr. Wallace said.
Sanofi Pasteur expects the demand for the vaccine to exceed supply this summer. To handle the anticipated summer rush among 18-year-olds, the CDC and other organizations have recommended that physicians defer the vaccination of 11- to 12-year-olds until further notice from the manufacturer that the shortage has been resolved.
The current supply projections should be sufficient to cover adolescents entering high school, dorm-dwelling college freshmen, and other high-risk groups, including military recruits and travelers to areas where the risk of meningococcal disease is high.
For periodic vaccine supply updates, visit www.cdc.gov/nip/news/shortages/default.htm