In the event of an influenza vaccine shortage during the 2005–2006 season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised physicians to prioritize people age 65 years and older with comorbid conditions if their local vaccine supplies are extremely limited.
A three-tiered chart, developed by the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, stratifies priority groups based on the likelihood of flu-related deaths and hospitalizations (MMWR 2005;54:749–50).
If a vaccine shortage occurs, but local supplies are not extremely limited, all people in the first tier should be given equal priority. The first tier, ranked as follows, includes people aged 65 years and older with comorbid conditions, long-term-care facility residents, people aged 2–64 years with comorbid conditions, people aged 65 years and older without comorbid conditions, children aged 6–23 months, pregnant women, health care workers, and any caregivers and household contacts of children younger than 6 months of age.
If additional inactivated vaccine doses become available during a shortage, vaccinations could be offered to people in tiers 2 and 3, which include household contacts of children or adults at increased risk for flu-related complications, healthy people aged 50–64 years, and healthy people aged 2–49 years, according to the CDC.