132M doses ready for upcoming flu season

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132M doses ready for upcoming flu season

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer 1 hour, 19 minutes ago

ATLANTA - Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to have a record 132

million doses ready for the 2007-2008 flu season, and even more could

be available if a fifth company joins their ranks, officials said

Thursday.

CSL Biotherapies, an Australian company, applied last month for

federal approval to sell its flu vaccine in the United States this fall.

Government health officials have been expanding their flu shot

recommendations to cover more age groups, and they now say that more

than 200 million Americans should get vaccinated each year. But

setbacks in recent years — including vaccine delays and shortages —

have left doctors and patients soured and confused.

Officials say they are heartened by the increase in vaccine manufacturing.

" To protect people, we need more vaccine, " said Dr. Jeanne Santoli,

deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention's immunization services division.

Influenza kills an estimated 36,000 Americans each year, and

hospitalizes another 200,000, according to the

CDC.

The manufacturer estimates for the next flu season were announced at a

meeting of flu vaccine manufacturers, health care providers and public

health officials.

If approved, CSL would join four other companies providing flu vaccine

in the United States. Three make flu shots — Sanofi Pasteur Inc.,

which projects 50 million doses; Novartis Vaccines, which expects to

make up to 40 million doses; and GlaxoKline, which is planning 30

million to 35 million doses.

In addition, MedImmune Vaccines Inc. plans to manufacture about 7

million doses of FluMist, a nasal mist recommended only for healthy

people between ages 5 and 49. It contains live virus and carries a

slight chance of causing flu-like symptoms.

Federal guidelines call for 218 million Americans to get vaccinated,

so the supply for shots still falls far short, said Dr. Anne Schuchat,

director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory

Diseases.

The companies said they are ramping up production. Sanofi is

completing a new facility in Pennsylvania that will allow it to double

its production. MedImmune is planning to more than triple its

production in the next few years.

CSL has asked for an expedited approval from the

Food and Drug Administration, which would be needed to reach the

vaccine market in time for the upcoming season, said Perreault,

CSL's executive vice president for worldwide commercial operations.

CSL has manufactured flu vaccine since 1968, and currently provides it

to 16 countries in Europe, South America and Asia.

Speaking at the National Influenza Vaccine Summit meeting, Perreault

said how many doses CSL brings to market this year will depend on when

FDA approval comes. The company has production capacity to add more

than 20 million doses to the U.S. market, he said.

In the United States, nearly 121 million doses — the current record —

were produced for the 2006-2007 flu season, but many went unused. More

than 18 million doses probably will be destroyed after their June 30

expiration, health officials said.

On the Net:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov

http://news./s/ap/20070419/ap_on_he_me/flu_shots_5