Parents Should Postpone Child Vaccine Booster: CDC

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"We are looking at a bubble in time where we have to accommodate what we are able to do," said Dr. Jonathan L. Temte, an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in Madison and a spokesman for the American Academy of Family Physicians.

"Parents who have had their children vaccinated within the past weeks or months should not be concerned," Temte said. "As far as we know, there is no evidence or reports of any untoward effect in a vaccine recipient."

Temte noted that because so many children have been vaccinated, "the likelihood of new disease taking off is very low."

The Hib vaccine is recommended for all children under 5 and is usually given in a three-shot series, starting at 2 months of age. The Hib booster is recommended for children at 12 to 15 months. The delay in getting the booster will continue until the vaccine supply improves, the CDC said.

There is one exception to the recommendation, however: The agency recommends that children at high risk for Hib disease continue to receive the booster dose. Children falling into that category include American Indians, Alaska Natives and children with conditions such as asplenia, sickle cell disease, HIV, immunodeficiency conditions and certain cancers.

The CDC took this action in consultation with the its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

More information

For more about Haemophilus influenzae type B, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.