Saturday, May 28, 2011

CDC to Pull Plug on Meningitis Vaccine


In the wake of dropping meningitis rates in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) appear to be reconsidering their cost-effectiveness analysis of meningitis vaccines. The CDC historically never has chosen to not recommend a vaccine for children that has been approved by the FDA. In this case ACIP seems to be hesitating to recommend the vaccine because of cost. 
The CDC in its 2010 Recommended Immunization Schedule suggests 38 doses of vaccine before a child reaches 18 months. According to Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, the schedule is so crowded that doctors sometimes give babies up to eight vaccines at once. 

Make an Informed Vaccine Decision for the Health of Your Child, a parent's guide Mayer Eisenstein, MD, is available at Amazon.

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