| ■ 132 Million Flu Vaccine Doses for U.S. Next Season | 07.04.23 |
| A record 132 million doses of flu vaccine are expected to be ready for the 2007-08 flu season in the United States, according to estimates announced Wednesday at a meeting in Atlanta of flu vaccine makers, public health officials, and health professionals. Sanofi Pasteur Inc. said it will have 50 million doses ready, Novartis Vaccines plans to have 40 million doses, and GlaxoSmithKline expects to have 30 million to 35 million doses. All those doses are in the form of flu shots, the Associated Press reported. In addition, MedImmune Vaccines says it will produce about seven million doses of FluMist. This nasal spray product, which contains a live flu virus and therefore carries a slight risk of causing flu symptoms, is recommended only for healthy people ages 5 to 49. But even this large number of flu doses falls short of U.S. guidelines that call for 218 million Americans to get flu vaccinations, noted Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease. The number of flu doses available for the next flu season may increase if another company, CSL Biotherapies, receives federal approval to sell its vaccine in the United States this fall, the AP reported. The company has asked for expedited FDA approval. Nearly 121 million flu vaccine doses -- the most ever -- were produced for the United States during the 2006-07 flu season, but more than 18 million doses weren't used and are to be destroyed after their June 30 expiration date. |