CDC: Merck's Adult Hep B Vaccine Is Stocked Out, Through The End Of 2018

Almost seven years ago this month, we faced this sort of a situation with Merck's adult Hep B vaccine, leading some (myself included) to wonder whether Merck was simply withdrawing from the market, albeit in a soft-spoken way. That turned out not to be the case.

Tonight, we've learned -- from the CDC's updated availability charts, that Kenilworth's sourced Hep B vaccine is stocked out. Glaxo however will be able to cover the shortage in the near term (just as it did in the summer of 2010). Pediatric Hep B vaccines will be unavailable from Merck now, before mid-January 2018. The adult version faces even longer stock-out projections: it will be unavailable for all of 2018, and perhaps a little beyond. Per the CDC's web resource, just updated, then:

. . . .Merck is not currently distributing its adult Hepatitis B vaccine and does not expect to be distributing adult Hepatitis B vaccine between now and the end of 2018. Additionally, Merck anticipates that its pediatric Hepatitis B vaccine will be unavailable between early August 2017 and mid-January 2018.

Merck’s supply of the dialysis formulation of Hepatitis B vaccine, however, is not affected and is expected to remain available. GSK has sufficient supplies of adult and pediatric Hepatitis B vaccines to address these anticipated gap in Merck’s supply of adult and pediatric Hepatitis B vaccines during these time periods; however, preferences for a specific presentation (i.e., vial versus syringe) may not be met consistently during this time. Updated Jul 2017. . . .

So it goes. Off to sleep now. . . smiling just the same -- as the night sky is powdered with stars, from here. . . .

नमस्ते