| ■ Flu Vaccine Makers Preparing 143 Million Doses for Next Season | 2008.05.19 |
| Hoping they picked the right viruses this time, the five companies that make influenza vaccine plan to offer at least 143 million doses to Americans for the 2008-2009 flu season, the Associated Press reports. The 2007-2008 flu season, which is just ending, was the worst in four years for adult deaths, the wire service reports, largely because the viruses used in the flu vaccine were ineffective against many of the viruses that actually circulated in the population. The viruses included in the vaccine each season are determined by scientists who have had a good record of predicting accurately, the A.P. reports, but two of the three viruses this season were wrong and were only 44 percent effective against the flu that circulated in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC and the American Medical Association are hosting a flu vaccine "summit" meeting in Atlanta next week, the wire service reports. Each year in the United States more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from the flu, and an average of 36,000 deaths occur, according the U.S. government statistics. |