2,600,000 flu jabs coming in January, Aventis Pasteur says

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 20 Oct 2004 - 10:00 PDT


In a telephone conversation with Tommy Thompson, US HSS Secretary, David Williams, Pasteur Aventis head, said his company aims to complete a batch of 2,600,000 flu jabs for a January delivery. Even though it is a drop in the ocean - the USA needs 48 million to make up for the shortfall - the country is so desperate that any amount is welcome.

Health Officials say January is not too late to get extra batches as the flu season in the USA tends to peak in February/March. However, some are saying that if 48 million fewer people are vaccinated now, the peak could arrive earlier. So far, the number of cases of flu have been tiny.

According to Tommy Thompson, there should be 60 million shots by January, out of a required 100 million.

Many Americans have been queuing for hours in the hope of getting a shot, many of them extremely elderly. A couple wrote to Medical News Today saying they had driven over 400 miles in one day, going from place to place, trying to get vaccinated. The couple, aged 88 and 85, were exhausted, but said their efforts had been fruitful.

The problem arose because Chiron's Liverpool (UK) plant had its manufacturing license suspended by UK authorities because there was contamination in the production process. Chiron was to deliver 48 million batches to the US in October (this month) - the delivery had to be cancelled.

The UK authorities realized in August that the Chiron, Liverpool (UK) plant may have problems completing its flu jab batch. They decided to have a back up plan and got supplies elsewhere. The US authorities had the same information as the British, but did nothing. The UK authorities make sure they have 7 approved suppliers of flu jabs in case of emergency, the US have only two - one of them has let them down, so they only really have one at the moment (Aventis Pasteur). This means that even if a company were to offer millions of jabs to the US, they would not arrive in time because the approval system takes so long. Americans are asking why such contingency plans were never made, why did the country not have more suppliers approved in case of an emergency, why had nothing been done in August….

Canadian authorities have told their health professionals to check that vaccination seekers are Canadian citizens or residents. They are worried that Americans coming over the border for their jabs could affect their domestic supplies. So far, there are no reports of large numbers of Americans crossing the border for jabs.

• Additional
• References
• Citations