New shot is better at stopping meningitis, but shortages are expected until factory gears up.

Health officials are bracing for the possibility of shortages of a new shot that prevents the type of meningitis that often spreads on college campuses.

A government panel recommended for the first time Thursday that all 10 million or so 11- and 12-year-olds in the United States get the shot, along with teenagers entering high school and college freshmen living in dormitories.

When to give the meningitis vaccine has always been the big debate, said Dr. Theresa Gutierrez of Fort Wayne Pediatrics.

“Do you give it at age 11 or 12, when they’re more likely to come in to the office, or wait until they’re 18, and then we might not see them?” she asked. “Ideally, we want to vaccinate at 14, 15 or 16 years of age, but it’s a difficult population to vaccinate.”

Gutierrez participated in a national survey that the panel, which advised the Centers for Disease Controll and Prevention, conducted. It found the 11- to 12-year-old age group represented the best opportunity to vaccinate, particularly with the new, longer-lasting vaccine, called Menactra.

The problem is that the shot is so new that the manufacturer will not be fully geared up for a few years, and only 5 million doses are expected to be available this year, said the maker, Sanofi Pasteur.

The shot, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month, is expected to become available to doctors in March.

Health officials with the panel said Menactra’s predecessor vaccine, Menomune, also created by Sanofi Pasteur, could be used as an alternative in the event of shortages. But Menomune does not provide nearly as much protection as Menactra.

Because each dose of Menactra is expected to cost about $100 and only 3,000 cases of meningococcal meningitis are reported each year, “it won’t save money,” said Mark Messonier, an economist with the CDC who helped develop a cost-effectiveness study of the plan.

Meningococcal meningitis affects about 3,000 a year in the United States and kills around 300. College freshmen who live in dormitories have the highest rate of the disease in the country - 5.1 per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.

The vaccine shortages could occur during the next three years because a new factory that will produce Menactra will not open until 2007 or 2008, said Phil Hosbach, vice president of new products and immunization for the company.

That was one reason the panel decided not to recommend shots for all young people ages 11 to 18.

Meningococcal bacteria infect the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. Since the bacteria are spread through contact such as kissing, sharing kitchen utensils and sneezing, people who live in close quarters are most at risk.

The disease can lead to amputations and cause brain damage.