ACIP recommends meningococcal vaccine for inclusion in VFC program

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices debated extensively today on — but ultimately voted in favor of — recommending Hib-MenCY-TT vaccine to be included in the Vaccines for Children program.

The 12-3 vote followed about an hour of discussion over inclusion of Hib-MenCY-TT (MenHibrix, GlaxoSmithKline). Many committee members said they felt that including the vaccine in the VFC program might unintentionally send a message to clinicians that the vaccine was preferred over other vaccines, when in fact, the committee made a recommendation at its October meeting that the Hib-MenCY-TT vaccine be used only in those infants at higher risk for meningococcal disease.

Mark H. Sawyer

The committee ultimately voted to recommend a motion put forth by ACIP member Mark H. Sawyer, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics and a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Hospital, which was to “include the combination vaccine in the VFC program as an acceptable vaccine, but that an effort be made to emphasize the current recommendations.”

Just before becoming one of the three to vote against Sawyer’s proposed resolution, ACIP member Renée R. Jenkins, MD, professor and chair emeritus, department of pediatrics and child health, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, D.C., said: “If we’re having this much confusion making a statement about this, can you imagine a practicing clinician looking at this document? If there’s a reason for us not to have the vaccine used and counted in the routine immunization schedule, I think we should consider that as an issue.”