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Please see our Vaccine Shortage Update for the most current information on the current vaccine shortages.
Pediatricians in all parts of the United States are have had to deal with shortages of many childhood vaccines over the past few years, with the Hib vaccine shortage being the latest.
In addition to Hib, there were recent shortages of Prevnar, Varivax, MMR, and Tetanus.
The shortages in the tetanus vaccine caused delays in immunization of adolescents and adults.
Why do we have shortages of vaccines?
Contributing to the shortages are the fact that some companies are no longer making vaccines and there "are production issues, decreased yields of the biologic materials used in certain vaccines, the elimination of some vaccines containing thimerosal as a preservative and insufficient vaccine stockpiles," according to the CDC.
Fortunately, most vaccines are in good supply right now. The CDC has even recommended that kids start getting their Hib boosters again.
Supplies of the hepatitis B vaccine are limited right now, but experts don't think that this will affect how kids are vaccinated.
If your child misses a vaccine because of a shortage, keep a list of which vaccines that your child still needs and call your pediatrician later to see if they are available again.
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