CDC says doctors should postpone final Hib vaccine due to shortage

ATLANTA Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that the final booster shot of the Hib vaccine should be postponed due to shortages from a recall.

Under normal circumstances, the federal government recommends children get the three-shot vaccine, which protects against Haemophilus influenza type B, at age 2 months, 4 months and then a booster at 12-to-15 months.

Earlier this month, however, 1.2 million doses of the Hib vaccine made by Merck were recalled because of contamination concerns at a Pennsylvania production plant. Because of worries of a shortage, the CDC has stated that doctors should defer the final boster in favor of using the vaccine for the first two boosters in younger children.

The agency also said doctors should keep track of those children who did not receive the third booster and make sure to administer it when supplies climbed back to normal.