Health officials in the US are concerned that last year's debacle in the availability of flu vaccines might repeat itself this year as well and hence have warned that elderly and others most at risk from the flu should be the first vaccinated.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, "We want the flu shot in their arms first." She said that people would eventually get the message and pay heed to this advice. In case there is plenty of stock of the vaccine, the CDC will urge the general healthy population to get vaccinated.
Gerberding said, "The worst-case scenario is we would have somewhere around 53 million doses,. The best case would be about 98 million doses." She stressed that a modern approach was needed in manufacturing the vaccine, preferably some vaccine that would have to be taken only once or twice in a lifetime.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues over whether Chiron will be able to manufacture the required doses in time, Chiron's license was suspended last October and was reinstated in March. It is yet to receive the final go-ahead from regulators to start manufacturing at its Liverpool plant.
Dr. Jesse Goodman, head of the FDA's center for biologics stated in the hearing, "It is too early to predict the final outcome of Chiron's remediation plan,"
In such a scenario, Sanofi-Pasteur remains the only hope with with an estimated 50 million to 60 million doses planned for this fall. GlaxoSmithKline has also joined the bid to become America’s fourth flu vaccine supplier. Goodman concluded, "I think things are moving in a positive direction but it is too soon to tell, so we do need to be prepared for a possible contingency."
