Supply pressures or supply shortages of combined tetravalent and pentavalent vaccines containing the pertussis valence are to be expected.
In this notice, the French High Council of public health (HCSP) took into consideration the risks incurred by a lowered vaccination coverage for pertussis and for invasive Haemophilus influenzae b infections, the annual sales figures and the stocks currently available in the country, as well as the current immunisation recommendations regarding the pertussis valence.
The HCSP recommends that the following be maintained as a priority:
the primary vaccination of infants (2 doses and a booster) with the hexavalent or a pentavalent vaccine, available doses of which must be controlled;
the cocooning strategy (including workplace immunisation), intended to prevent adults from contaminating infants not yet old enough to be vaccinated, and case-circling immunisation form the second priority.
Based on the available doses of combined vaccines containing the pertussis valence, the HCSP recommends that the 6-year booster be performed with the dTcaP vaccine. Later boosters (11-13 years and 25 years) remain unchanged. Detailed recommendations are made for vaccinations performed as part of cocooning and case-circling, as well as for infants vaccinated at birth against hepatitis B.
Furthermore, the HCSP laments the repeated episodes of vaccine shortages which jeopardise the implementation of the immunisation policy.
These recommendations are regularly brought up to date based information gathered about the availability of pertussis valence-containing vaccines.
- Recommendation
- Europe
- France
- Pertussis
