Flu vaccine supply ample, demand lagging

Public health questions persist, ranging from the number of vaccine manufacturers to how well matched the vaccine will be to the upcoming season's active strains.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. June 16, 2003.

There's good news on the horizon regarding the upcoming flu season -- and some work to be done, too.

Despite the loss of one of the three manufacturers of flu vaccine and a reduction in the number of doses believed to be available this fall, public health officials and other vaccine experts doubt that this year's supply will be marred by the delays and shortages that characterized recent flu seasons.

"It's on schedule," said Roland Levandowski, MD, supervisory medical officer for the Food and Drug Administration's division of viral products.

Wyeth announced its exit from the injectable flu vaccine market in November 2002. But the remaining two manufacturers, Aventis Pasteur and Powderject Vaccines Inc., vowed to increase production to meet demand.

Public health officials estimate that 80 million to 85 million doses will be available for the coming season. They do not expect shortages or delays because last year the three companies manufactured more than 95 million doses. Only about 80 million doses made it to patients.

"We are far, far from our Healthy People 2010 goals of vaccinating 90% of the elderly and 60% of younger people with risk factors," said Walt Orenstein, MD, MPH, director of the CDC's National Immunization Project.

This situation represents both the success and the failure of the National Influenza Vaccine Summit sponsored by the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The annual event, held last month in Chicago, has gathered an increasing number of stakeholders, including flu vaccine manufacturers, doctors, medical societies, distributors and mass vaccinators.