'06 flu vaccine supply might set records

During our Labor Day publishing hiatus, good news came from CDC that the total supply of flu vaccine for the upcoming flu season may reach an all-time high. The headline is that more than 100 million doses are expected to be available by late fall, a number that could reach as high as 115 million if a new vaccine from ID Biomedical (part of GSK) is licensed in the near future, as is anticipated. Either estimate would easily surpass the previous all-time high of 83 million doses administered in a single season.

Here's the detailed CDC press release as well as the related news story from CIDRAP. Between the impressive supply forecasts and the expected arrival of a fifth vaccine, signs suggest that at least some lessons were learned from the Chiron-induced flu vaccine shortage of 2004. The next challenge will be working to ensure that those 100+ million doses are administered, particularly to those groups identified as high-risk populations.