Officials say meningitis vaccine shortfall is over

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A shortage of meningitis vaccine supplies has ended, U.S. federal health officials said on Thursday as they restored their recommendation for children ages 11 and 12 to get the shot.

Concern about tight supplies had prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend in May that preteens defer getting the vaccine while two other groups -- adolescents entering high school (starting at about 15 years old) and college freshmen living in dormitories -- continue to get vaccinated.

The vaccine was approved by the government last year for preventing bacterial meningitis, an infection that can cause seizures, brain damage, memory loss and even death in otherwise healthy people in less than 48 hours.

The relatively rare disease involves the inflammation of membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

The Menactra vaccine is made by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine unit of Sanofi-Aventis.

Donna Cary, a Sanofi Pasteur spokeswoman, said the company expects to make more than 6 million doses of the vaccine this year and at least 7 million next year. Cary said she expected supplies to be sufficient going into next year.

The shortage ended as demand for vaccinating students during back-to-school physical examinations eased, officials said.

"Where possible, providers who deferred vaccination of children aged 11-12 years should recall those patients for vaccination," the CDC said.

U.S. officials last year said they were investigating if the vaccine caused a small number of cases of a rare neurological disorder that can paralyze its victims.