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US Flu Levels Low As New Season's Reporting Starts


Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)

OCTOBER 16, 2015

By: Lisa Schnirring | News Editor

So far the CDC has seen no significant drift in currently circulating flu viruses, as it did last season.

Flu supply status, FluMist delay
The agency predicts companies will make 171 to 179 million flu vaccine doses for the US market. As of Oct 2, distributors had shipped about 98.2 million doses to providers, according to updated information yesterday from the CDC.

Flu vaccine formulations continue to evolve this season, with quadrivalent vaccines that protect against both influenza B lineages making up a larger part of the US supply. Intramuscular vaccines are now available in both trivalent and quadrivalent forms, and all nasal and intradermal doses will be quadrivalent this year, according to background information from the CDC. Also a jet injector can be used with one trivalent vaccine to immunize adults through age 64.

MedImmune has encountered some unforeseen challenges with the production of FluMist (also known as live attenuated influenza vaccine, or LAIV) that have delayed deliveries, Melissa Garcia, a company spokeswoman, told CIDRAP News. She said the problems involve two of the four strains in the vaccine and will result in a substantial portion of FluMist being delayed compared with previous seasons.

She said that so far 5 million FluMist doses have been distributed, and a significant number of additional doses are expected through the end of the year. "The CDC supports vaccinating as long as flu viruses are circulating. We continue to support vaccination as soon as product is available and throughout the season," she noted.

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