Overall Flu Vaccine Supply Expected to Cover Demand

Here's the $64,000 question: Is flu vaccine in short supply this year? The short answer, according to the CDC, is no.

The difficulties some physicians currently are experiencing in receiving vaccine they've ordered likely stem from the way vaccine is distributed, according to Litjen Tan, director of infectious diseases for the AMA. The CDC and AMA are co-conveners of the National Influenza Vaccine Summit in which the AAFP plays an active role.

Of the three vaccine manufacturers scheduled to supply trivalent inactivated flu vaccine, or TIV, to the United States this season, sanofi pasteur is expected to ship the lion's share -- some 60 million doses. GlaxoSmithKline has contracted to supply between 8 million and 10 million TIV doses, said Tan, and Chiron Corp. received word on Oct. 12 that FDA officials had released the first three lots of its vaccine. The company plans to provide about 28 million vaccine doses.

At least two of these manufacturers, GlaxoSmithKline and Chiron, are currently working through distributors, said Tan. "Each distributor gets vaccine at different times and sends it out at different times," he said, which can create the perception that some vaccine providers are receiving and administering vaccine while others are not. But overall supply is absolutely not a problem, he noted. Between all three manufacturers, "You'll have several million doses shipping each week, probably peaking at the end of October and into November."

"A number of AAFP members have expressed concerns that they haven't received vaccine ordered for their high-risk patients early in the year or that they've been notified of an order cancellation,"said AAFP President Larry, Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky.

"The problem is that the large purchasers of the world have contracts with large penalties for not meeting the delivery date," Fields added "Physicians can't get together to become large purchasers, as that would be considered antitrust.

"This is a major problem.

"I would encourage members to contact the AAFP News Now bulletin board and document their experiences, so that we can follow up with the appropriate individuals."

When notifying the AAFP about supply problems, members should note with which company they placed their order and whether the order was placed last spring. They also should include their contact information.

The AAFP and CDC continue to recommend that the following patient groups be prioritized to receive TIV until Oct. 24, according to recommendations for influenza immunization the Academy adopted last month. The recommendations, which are consistent with those developed by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, define the following groups as high risk:

Beginning Oct. 24, any individual who wishes to be vaccinated against the flu may be immunized.