Despite a nationwide shortfall in production of a new type of meningitis vaccine, the Thielen Student Health Center will not experience a supply problem, student health officials said.

High demand for a new form of meningitis vaccine called Menactra has created a widespread shortage for the inoculant, but the student health center’s supply will easily meet the university’s needs, said Greg Yeakel, chief staff pharmacist for the student health center.

“This new vaccine was brought to market, and the producers were caught off guard with demand,” Yeakel said. “We ordered in anticipation of our needs and snuck in before the shortage.”

Manactra was licensed for use last January, he said, and lasts longer than previous meningitis vaccines. Yeakel said the health center also has Menomune, the vaccine used last year, on hand if the Menactra supply runs out, but he doubts administering the older vaccine will become necessary.

The health center based its Menactra order on past usage of meningitis vaccine and doesn’t anticipate any supply problems this year, according to Yeakel.

Lauri Dusselier, program coordinator for the health center, said she doesn’t expect any supply problems.

“I think the shortage will be a short-term problem,” she said. “Luckily, at Iowa State, we have enough vaccine to meet our needs, and students should know that.”

She said the health center administered around 500 meningitis vaccinations last year and should easily have enough vaccine for that many this year.

Other health clinics in Ames struggling with the shortage, however, may need to tap into older vaccines.

Elaine Cox, manager of pediatrics at McFarland Health Clinic, says McFarland’s Menactra supply may run out in the near future.

“We are sitting very well now,” Cox said, “but we may only have enough for two more months.”

She said Sanofi Pasteur, the drug company that produces the new vaccine, can send the clinic only 20 doses of Menactra a month.

“We can go through that in an hour in pediatrics,” she said.

If the supply of Menactra runs out, she said the clinic possesses an ample supply of Menomune.

“It’s still perfectly good,” she said of the older vaccine.

Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, said she doesn’t expect the vaccine shortage to last much longer.

“This really isn’t a shortage in the traditional sense,” she said.

Shortages occur when a plentiful vaccine suddenly becomes scarce, Quinlisk said. Supply problems have occurred with Menactra because the vaccine hasn’t had enough time for large-scale production, she said.

“The drug company just got the vaccine licensed,” she said. “They’re gearing up production as fast as they can. They know there’s great demand.”

Meningitis, an infection that leads to swelling of the fluid around the brain and spinal chord, poses a threat to college students living in dormitories, according to the health center Web site. The infection spreads through oral secretions and can cause brain damage or death, but can be prevented with vaccines. Dusselier said although Iowa State does not require students to be vaccinated, the university recommends that students get the shot.