As many as 97 million influenza shots will be available in the United States market for the upcoming flu season starting in October, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to GlaxoSmithKline as a supplier, there are now 4 companies providing the vaccines to the United States.
Last year, Chiron lost its manufacturing license due to contamination at its British manufacturing plant, and half the anticipated US supply was lost. Long queues formed to get the vaccine, and health officials scrambled to find other suppliers. The CDC says 185 million Americans should get a flu shot every year but fewer than half that number ever do. The CDC said that this year the first people to get vaccinated should be children aged 6 to 23 months, pregnant women, healthcare personnel who provide direct patient care, and household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of infants under 6 months. “Beginning October 24, 2005, all persons will be eligible for vaccination,” the CDC said in a statement.
Influenza kills an estimated 36,000 Americans and puts 200,000 in the hospital in an average year. The virus constantly changes, thus the vaccine must be reformulated and made fresh every year, and the process is uncertain and fraught with difficulty. The annual flu vaccine provides no protection against the H5N1 avian flu spreading in Asia. Work is underway on developing and testing an H5N1 vaccine.
(Source: AOL Health News, accessed September 1, 2005)
