Medical facilities around the country have been requiring EMS personnel who do not have proof of a positive titer to the hepatitis B vaccine series be tested prior to clinical rotations. If the titer is <10mlU/ml, those facilities administer an additional dose of vaccine. These costs, which can be significant, are passed on to the EMS providers or their departments.

Read more: CDC Responds to Medical Facilities Requiring EMS Personnel to have Titers

July 15th, 2019 – An Australia-based, worldwide leader in influenza prevention announced it is the first to ship seasonal influenza vaccines to customers in the United States for the 2019-2020 influenza season.   

Seqirus said in a July 15, 2019 press release that it ‘expects to distribute over 50 million doses to the U.S. market this year, with the majority of doses coming from its adjuvanted and cell-based technology platforms.’ 

Read more: Seqirus ShipsInfluenza Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expecting a 3 to 10 month nationwide shortage of APLISOL®, a product of Par Pharmaceuticals. APLISOL® is one of two purified-protein derivative (PPD) tuberculin antigens that are licensed by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in performing tuberculin skin tests. The manufacturer notified CDC that they anticipate a supply interruption of APLISOL® 5 mL (50 tests) beginning in June 2019, followed by a supply interruption of APLISOL® 1 mL (10 tests) in November 2019. The expected shortage of APLISOL® 1 mL (10 tests) could occur before November 2019, if demand increases before then. The 3-10 month timeframe for the nationwide shortage is the manufacturer’s current estimate and is subject to change. Read More...

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — The number of confirmed measles cases near Portland grew to 31 on Friday — an outbreak boosted by lower-than-normal vaccination rates in what has been called an anti-vaccination U.S. “hot spot.” Read more. .