JohnHKart
10-06-04, 07:54 AM
I was about to blast the British Govt, but perhaps Chiron's more the one to blame. I swear by the flu shot, when I don't take it I have gotten sick. But never do I get sick when I get the shot. I need it, being a singing pro musician I can't get sick!
John
Supply of flu vaccine halved
By Andrew Pollack
Nearly half of the nation's expected supply of flu vaccine will not be available this winter because the British government has suspended the manufacturing license at the factory in Liverpool that manufacturers it, federal officials said Tuesday.
The unexpected development, coming just as the flu season is starting, means there will almost certainly be a significant shortage of the vaccine this winter.
Los Angeles County and local health officials were scrambling for a game plan Tuesday after the announcement.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said officials there are still trying to figure out how much vaccine it will lose and how to deal with patients who rely on county assistance for inoculations.
"We're going to have much less flu vaccine in L.A. County than we anticipated,' Fielding said. "It's important to concentrate on higher-risk groups and ask that those in higher-risk groups go first.'
Such groups include children between 6 and 23 months and the elderly, he said.
"This is very disappointing news that creates a serious challenge to our vaccine supply for the upcoming season,' Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of health and human services, said at a news conference on Tuesday. He added, "Our immediate focus will be on making sure the supply of vaccines we do have reaches those who are most vulnerable.'
Vanessa Carter, director for the West Covina Senior Center, said officials were planning for a flu-shot clinic at the center in November. The vaccine is supplied by the county.
Typically, more than 300 seniors get their vaccination there, she said. The county has not informed her whether or not the center will be facing a shortage of vaccine.
"I'm most concerned about any type of shortage in that area because the senior population is the population most at risk,' Carter said. "The county representatives that we deal with take their jobs very seriously, and we're doing everything we can to keep us all well informed and keep the seniors at the center safe.'
The manufacturing license was suspended for three months because of concerns over sterility. As a result, Chiron Corp., the American biotechnology company that owns the factory, said it would not be able to supply any of the 46 million to 48 million doses it had planned to sell in the United States this year.
Federal officials had been hoping to have 100 million vaccine doses available this winter, up from 87 million last winter, when an early outbreak of flu season and well- publicized deaths of some children contributed to a shortage. Now they expect to have just 54 million doses from the other major manufacturer, Aventis, and 1 million to 2 million doses of a nasal spray vaccine from MedImmune.
The county typically receives about 3 million doses of flu vaccine, but Fielding said he does not know how much of that comes from Chiron versus Aventis.
In late August, Chiron had said it would delay shipments of its vaccine until early this month and cut the number of doses it would supply by about 4 million because it had found some contamination in a small number of batches. But the company and federal officials had said publicly as recently as last week that they expected the problem to be resolved.
Federal authorities are now scrambling to find additional supplies. The other manufacturers are not expected to be able to increase supply that much because of the time it takes to produce vaccine. Tests run by the government a few years ago suggested that half the usual dose would suffice for healthy people.
There are also more than 1 million doses officials would not say how many of the Chiron vaccine already in the United States. But authorities said that vaccine would not be distributed unless the FDA determined it was safe.
Federal authorities said they would not try to seize control of the flu vaccine supply but would work through existing channels to try to direct the vaccine to those who will be given priority.
Besides the elderly and infants, those include people 2 to 64 with a chronic health condition such as heart disease, pregnancy, residents of long-term care facilities, children who take aspirin chronically, health- care workers who are directly involved in patient care, residents of long-term care facilities and those who care for infants.
But since some vaccine has already been distributed, there could be confusion and spot shortages.
"We will get through, of course, but it will be a huge headache because it will affect every provider of influenza vaccine in the country,' said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His own hospital, he said, had placed its entire order with Chiron and would now have to scramble to get any supply at all.
This is not the first shortage of vaccines for flu. Besides the one last year, there was one in 2000.
Staff Writer Christina L. Esparza contributed to this story.
John
Supply of flu vaccine halved
By Andrew Pollack
Nearly half of the nation's expected supply of flu vaccine will not be available this winter because the British government has suspended the manufacturing license at the factory in Liverpool that manufacturers it, federal officials said Tuesday.
The unexpected development, coming just as the flu season is starting, means there will almost certainly be a significant shortage of the vaccine this winter.
Los Angeles County and local health officials were scrambling for a game plan Tuesday after the announcement.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said officials there are still trying to figure out how much vaccine it will lose and how to deal with patients who rely on county assistance for inoculations.
"We're going to have much less flu vaccine in L.A. County than we anticipated,' Fielding said. "It's important to concentrate on higher-risk groups and ask that those in higher-risk groups go first.'
Such groups include children between 6 and 23 months and the elderly, he said.
"This is very disappointing news that creates a serious challenge to our vaccine supply for the upcoming season,' Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of health and human services, said at a news conference on Tuesday. He added, "Our immediate focus will be on making sure the supply of vaccines we do have reaches those who are most vulnerable.'
Vanessa Carter, director for the West Covina Senior Center, said officials were planning for a flu-shot clinic at the center in November. The vaccine is supplied by the county.
Typically, more than 300 seniors get their vaccination there, she said. The county has not informed her whether or not the center will be facing a shortage of vaccine.
"I'm most concerned about any type of shortage in that area because the senior population is the population most at risk,' Carter said. "The county representatives that we deal with take their jobs very seriously, and we're doing everything we can to keep us all well informed and keep the seniors at the center safe.'
The manufacturing license was suspended for three months because of concerns over sterility. As a result, Chiron Corp., the American biotechnology company that owns the factory, said it would not be able to supply any of the 46 million to 48 million doses it had planned to sell in the United States this year.
Federal officials had been hoping to have 100 million vaccine doses available this winter, up from 87 million last winter, when an early outbreak of flu season and well- publicized deaths of some children contributed to a shortage. Now they expect to have just 54 million doses from the other major manufacturer, Aventis, and 1 million to 2 million doses of a nasal spray vaccine from MedImmune.
The county typically receives about 3 million doses of flu vaccine, but Fielding said he does not know how much of that comes from Chiron versus Aventis.
In late August, Chiron had said it would delay shipments of its vaccine until early this month and cut the number of doses it would supply by about 4 million because it had found some contamination in a small number of batches. But the company and federal officials had said publicly as recently as last week that they expected the problem to be resolved.
Federal authorities are now scrambling to find additional supplies. The other manufacturers are not expected to be able to increase supply that much because of the time it takes to produce vaccine. Tests run by the government a few years ago suggested that half the usual dose would suffice for healthy people.
There are also more than 1 million doses officials would not say how many of the Chiron vaccine already in the United States. But authorities said that vaccine would not be distributed unless the FDA determined it was safe.
Federal authorities said they would not try to seize control of the flu vaccine supply but would work through existing channels to try to direct the vaccine to those who will be given priority.
Besides the elderly and infants, those include people 2 to 64 with a chronic health condition such as heart disease, pregnancy, residents of long-term care facilities, children who take aspirin chronically, health- care workers who are directly involved in patient care, residents of long-term care facilities and those who care for infants.
But since some vaccine has already been distributed, there could be confusion and spot shortages.
"We will get through, of course, but it will be a huge headache because it will affect every provider of influenza vaccine in the country,' said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His own hospital, he said, had placed its entire order with Chiron and would now have to scramble to get any supply at all.
This is not the first shortage of vaccines for flu. Besides the one last year, there was one in 2000.
Staff Writer Christina L. Esparza contributed to this story.