Vaccine supply closely monitored

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 9:50 a.m.

A nationwide shortage of a children's vaccine has Clark County health officials seeking to ensure that the youngest and most vulnerable patients are innoculated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has issued guidelines for handling the shortage of Prevnar, a new vaccine that protects against bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae. The bacteria causes childhood meningitis, pneumonia, ear infections and blood infections.

The Clark County Health District has Prevnar in stock, but officials are carefully monitoring the supply, said Suzann Chesebrough, public health nursing supervisor.

"For now we're focusing on innoculating infants and children up to age 2," Chesebrough said. "We're telling parents with older children we'll call them when the supplies increase."

Under the CDC guidelines, healthy children older than 2 shouldn't be given the vaccine until more doses become available. The manufacturer of the vaccine, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, blamed the shortage on production problems.

The shortage has also been felt by pediatricians in private practice, said Dr. Kenneth Misch of Desert Valley Pediatrics.

The Prevnar vaccine is expensive and many insurance companies won't reimburse doctors for using it, Misch said. That means most smaller offices can't afford to keep extra stock of the vaccine on hand and rely on frequent reorders, Misch said.

The vaccine shortage is more of an inconvenience than a true health emergency, Misch said, since there are doses available for at-risk children. But doctors will have to call parents and reschedule appointments, which can be time-consuming, Misch said.

Chesebrough said many parents with health insurance say their private pediatricians suggested they go to the Health District for the Prevnar vaccinations. Free vaccinations are available for children without health insurance. The county health district charges $70 per dose for vaccinating children with insurance, Chesebrough said.

"Prevnar is expensive, and some private doctors are finding it easier to refer their patients to the health district than to stock it themselves," Chesebrough said.

The federally funded Vaccine for Children program has its own supply of Prevnar, and paying patients are not dipping into the inventory, Chesebrough said.