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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met today to make recommendations for use of vaccine against novel influenza A (H1N1).
The committee met to develop recommendations on who should receive
vaccine against novel influenza A (H1N1) when it becomes available, and
to determine which groups of the population should be prioritized if the
vaccine is initially available in extremely limited quantities.
The committee recommended the vaccination efforts focus on five key
populations. Vaccination efforts are designed to help reduce the impact
and spread of novel H1N1. The key populations include those who are at
higher risk of disease or complications, those who are likely to come in
contact with novel H1N1, and those who could infect young infants.
When vaccine is first available, the committee recommended that programs
and providers try to vaccinate:
* pregnant women,
* people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of
age,
* health care and emergency services personnel,
* persons between the ages of 6 months through 24 years of age, and
* people from ages 25 through 64 years who are at higher risk for novel
H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.
The groups listed above total approximately 159 million people in the
United States.
The committee does not expect that there will be a shortage of novel
H1N1 vaccine, but availability and demand can be unpredictable. There
is some possibility that initially the vaccine will be available in
limited quantities. In this setting, the committee recommended that the
following groups receive the vaccine before others:
* pregnant women,
* people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of
age,
* health care and emergency services personnel with direct patient
contact,
* children 6 months through 4 years of age, and
* children 5 through 18 years of age who have chronic medical
conditions.
The committee recognized the need to assess supply and demand issues at
the local level. The committee further recommended that once the demand
for vaccine for these prioritized groups has been met at the local
level, programs and providers should begin vaccinating everyone from
ages 25 through 64 years. Current studies indicate the risk for
infection among persons age 65 or older is less than the risk for
younger age groups. Therefore, as vaccine supply and demand for vaccine
among younger age groups is being met, programs and providers should
offer vaccination to people over the age of 65.
The committee also stressed that people over the age of 65 receive the
seasonal vaccine as soon as it is available.
Even if novel H1N1 vaccine is initially only available in limited
quantities, supply and availability will continue, so the committee
stressed that programs and providers continue to vaccinate unimmunized
patients and not keep vaccine in reserve for later administration of the
second dose.
The novel H1N1 vaccine is not intended to replace the seasonal flu
vaccine. It is intended to be used alongside seasonal flu vaccine to
protect people. Seasonal flu and novel H1N1 vaccines may be
administered on the same day.