EXECUTIVE ORDER
05-11

WHEREAS, on October 5th 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received notification of an impending shortage of influenza vaccine which would result in limited availability of the vaccine during the 2004-05 influenza season; and

WHEREAS, the CDC, acting upon the advice of its Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), recommended that health care providers limit distribution of the available influenza vaccine to persons identified as falling within certain designated "high risk categories"; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order 04-22 was issued on October 25th 2004, directing all Missouri health care providers and others that possess influenza vaccine to limit their influenza vaccinations to persons in the high risk categories identified by the CDC; and

WHEREAS, the ACIP has expanded its original list of priority group designations to include other individuals because there is sufficient influenza vaccine to accommodate an expanded group and the ACIP desires to avoid the possibility of doses of influenza vaccine going unused; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), upon the advice of its Division of Environmental Health and Communicable Disease Prevention (EHCDP), has determined that sufficient influenza vaccine doses are available for Missouri to meet the existing demand for influenza vaccine and has received requests from local public health agencies to expand the high priority groups to ensure that Missouri's available doses of influenza vaccine are used during the 2004-05 influenza season; and

WHEREAS, on January 18th 2005, DHSS requested that Executive Order 04-22 be rescinded to allow for the distribution of influenza vaccine according to the CDC/ACIP expanded priority group designations.

NOW THEREFORE, I, Matt Blunt, Governor of the State of Missouri, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Missouri, do hereby rescind Executive Order 04-22 and order that DHSS and all Missouri health care providers and others that possess influenza vaccine adopt the CDC/ACIP expanded priority group designations as soon as possible and update the designations as necessary.

ATTEST:

 

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