Geneva - The World Health Organization on Thursday revised downwards to 3 billion doses its estimate for the amount of vaccine doses manufacturers will be able to produce for the A(H1N1) pandemic virus. "These supplies will still be inadequate to cover a world population of 6.8 billion people, in which virtually everyone is susceptible to infection by a new and readily contagious virus. Global manufacturing capacity for influenza vaccines is limited, inadequate and not readily augmented," WHO's updated report on pandemic influenza vaccines read.
The report said regulatory authorities and vaccine manufacturers had made "extraordinary efforts" to expedite the availability of vaccines for the virus, which is also known as swine flu.
Regulatory authorities have licensed pandemic vaccines in Australia, China, Hungary and the United States, WHO reported. Japan and several European countries were expected to follow. The length of the full approval process would depend on several factors unique to each country and drugmaker.
