CDC recommends full Prevnar series again for kids

The supply issues with Prevnar, a vaccine that protects kids from bacterial infections, have been resolved and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups are now recommending that doctors resume giving the full four doses of the vaccine, according to a report released Thursday.

The vaccine helps build up the body's immune defenses against pneumococcus, a microbe that can cause pneumonia, middle ear infections and other serious infections.

With the four-dose schedule, the vaccine is given to a child at 2, 4, and 6 months of age and then once again between 12 and 15 months.

The "CDC has worked closely with the manufacturer to continually monitor the situation and manage limited supplies of the vaccine," Dr. Steve Cochi, acting director of the CDC National Immunization Program, said in a statement. "The manufacturer has assured CDC that (Prevnar) supplies are now adequate and healthcare providers should return to the full schedule."

Wyeth, the only US distributor of the vaccine, announced last December that because of production problems supplies would be limited at least through July 2004.

In February, the CDC recommended that healthcare providers omit the final dose to compensate for the shortage. Based on previous research, the CDC said that this strategy would not diminish the vaccine's effectiveness.

However, after reevaluating the situation a few weeks later, the CDC decided that a further cutback to just two doses was needed to combat the shortage and provide coverage to as many children as possible.

As anticipated, supplies improved by July and the CDC advised doctors to increase the series to three doses. Now, with the shortage apparently resolved, the CDC is once again recommending the full four-dose series.