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Wednesday, December 10, 2003The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that they were exploring ways to import influenza vaccine from Europe and redistribute supplies to meet any shortages in this country. ...Still, the director acknowledged that there was no way that the 185 million Americans deemed eligible to receive flu shots would receive them. Drug companies made 83 million doses for this season, a number based on demand in past years. Dr. Gerberding added that government rationing of the remaining stocks was not an option, because most vaccine is in the hands of practicing physicians, who dispense it according to patient need and demand. ...Even if the government can import vaccine from Europe, the amount is likely to be relatively small. Dr. Gerberding said the government was exploring the possibility of securing a half-million doses of vaccine from the British unit of Chiron. That vaccine is licensed but not approved for use in the United States, Dr. Gerberding said, and her agency is working with the Food and Drug Administration to determine whether it can be used in time.. They're also working on ways to avoid similar problems in the future: "The trick here," she said, "is what we can do as a federal agency to assure the manufacturers will make more doses than we need on average." Dr. Gerberding said the health and human services secretary, Tommy G. Thompson, had asked for recommendations to work on the problem. One option is for the government to pay manufacturers to increase production in the future. posted by Sydney on 12/10/2003 07:41:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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