Chiron announced that it won’t make the flu vaccine this year, because of problems at its plant in Britain. It had planned to supply 48 million of the 100 million doses this year . This is terrible news – more to come.
Update:
The press release from Chiron.
The FDA with their response:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is convening its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to prioritize its recommendations on who should get the flu vaccine for this season based on the new vaccine supply information.We will need the help of the public, the public health community and the medical community to make sure that the vaccine goes to those who truly need it most.
Appropriate rationing strategies will likely be instituted during the shortage.
Update 2:
Looks like Canada won’t be affected:
Canada does not purchase flu shots from Chiron and this country’s supplies of vaccine are secure and in the pipeline, officials here said Tuesday in the wake of the surprise announcement that U.K. regulatory authorities had suspended Chiron’s licence for three months.
Newsweek chimes in. One interesting fact:
Chiron is one of six suppliers of flu vaccine in the United Kingdom, but it accounted for about half the flu vaccine supply in the United States.
This is what happens when you have the majority of your eggs in one basket.
