Flu Vaccine Column

This year=s unexpected shortage of flu vaccine was a result of vaccine doses becoming contaminated during production. On October 5th, Chiron Corporation, a California-based biotechnology company, notified U.S.. health officials that British regulators had suspended production of flu vaccine in its plant in Liverpool, England, due to safety concerns. Chiron is one of just two manufacturers of injectable flu vaccine for the U.S. market, and the plant had been slated to provide about half the planned nationwide supply of 100 million doses. The failure at Chiron=s plan not only precipitated the current shortage, but also highlighted our country=s unhealthy reliance on too few manufacturers for our vaccine supply.

While long-term measures are needed to increase our nation=s capacity to manufacture vaccine, our immediate focus should be on maximizing the use of the existing vaccine supply. After all, the flu is responsible for as many as 36,000 American deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations each year, so we must do our best to make the vaccine available to those high-risk individuals who need them.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging, of which I am a member, was concerned about this issue even before the announcement of this year=s shortage. On September 28th, the Committee held a hearing at which both federal health officials and the CEO of Chiron said that the U.S. would have plenty of flu vaccine available for the upcoming flu season. Ironically, this took place exactly one week before the announcement that Chiron Corporation=s license to manufacture flu vaccine was revoked.

Since that time, I have been working with my colleagues to find ways to remedy the current problem and avoid similar problems in the future.

On October 26th, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and I wrote a letter to Secretary Tommy Thompson of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging him to do everything possible to improve the use of the existing vaccine and to increase the available supply. Specifically, we urged the Centers for Disease Control to look at each state=s unique needs in allocating new shipments of vaccine. I was therefore pleased by the Department=s announcement on November 9th that they would be working with state health departments to make allocations on the basis of need to ensure that people at highest risk for the complications from influenza have access to the vaccine.

In addition, we have asked HHS to closely examine a number of clinical studies suggesting that using as little as 1/10th of the usual flu vaccine dosage can still be effective in immunizing a healthy person against the flu. The use of a reduced dose would make vaccines available to a far greater number of individuals.

I am also a cosponsor of the AEmergency Flu Response Act,@ which gives our public health agencies additional tools to respond to the current flu vaccine shortage and to maximize the effectiveness of our reduced vaccine stocks.

This issue will continue to be a high priority for me. I will continue to work on finding ways that we can best respond to this year=s shortage of flu vaccine as well as revitalize our efforts to ensure adequate supplies of all vaccines for our country in the future.

There are other ways to help prevent the flu, but one of the most effective is to be vaccinated each fall. That is why it is so troubling that this is the second straight year that the U.S. has experienced a vaccine shortage, alarming seniors, parents of very young children, and other high-risk groups. People across the country B especially those who are at high risk B should be able to depend on an annual flu vaccine if they choose to get the shot. It is my hope that we can make the improvement in the system necessary to ensure that Americans have an adequate supply of vaccine.