Who should be vaccinated first with the H1N1 pandemic flu vaccine?
8/21/2009 - The answer keeps changing. First, there were the original recommendations from the CDC:
ACIP recommends that programs and providers provide vaccine to all persons in the following five initial target groups as soon as vaccine is available (order of target groups does not indicate priority):
- pregnant women,
- persons who live with or provide care for infants aged <6 months (e.g., parents, siblings, and daycare providers),
- health-care and emergency medical services personnel,†
- children and young adults aged 6 months--24 years, and
- persons aged 25--64 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.§
Second, there was a change favoring only the younger children (along with pregnant women and health care workers) due to early vaccine shortages:
Subset of initial target groups
ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC) recommends that all persons in the following subset of the five initial target groups receive priority for vaccination if vaccine availability is not sufficient to meet demand (order of target groups does not indicate priority):
- pregnant women,
- persons who live with or provide care for infants aged <6 months (e.g., parents, siblings, and daycare providers),
- health-care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious material,
- children aged 6 months--4 years, and
- children and adolescents aged 5--18 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.
Now comes this completely different view from a group of researchers:
Researchers' flu vaccine guidance differs from CDC's
Researchers who created a mathematical model of flu virus transmission recommend that the best strategy to stop transmission of seasonal flu or swine flu is to vaccinate schoolchildren aged 5 to 19 who are most likely to spread the virus and adults aged 30 to 39 who are vulnerable to contracting the virus from their children. The guidance differs from the CDC's, which recommends that pregnant women, children 6 months and older and health care workers be vaccinated first. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/HealthDay News (8/20)
Mark M. Blatter, M.D.
Medical Director
Primary Physicians Research