JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A top public health official granted an exemption Thursday to allow pregnant women and parents of children less than 3 years old to choose whether to receive flu vaccine containing a mercury-based preservative.
Department of Health and Senior Services Director Margaret Donnelly determined that a shortage of preservative-free vaccine was preventing pregnant women and young children from obtaining the new H1N1 vaccine.
Donnelly's decision temporarily sets aside a statute that prohibited pregnant women and children under 3 from receiving vaccine with this preservative.
The statute also allows Donnelly to set aside the ban in certain circumstances, including a pandemic or a shortage of vaccine. The waiver will remain in effect until the shortage no longer exists.
Under the exemption, pregnant women and families of children younger than 3 years old will be able to decide whether to receive vaccines that contain small traces of mercury-based preservative
