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Flu Season 2003-04
Influenza Vaccine Bulletin
#2
Flu Season 2003-2004
July 20, 2003
Topics
Vaccine Supply and Production
Vaccine Distribution and Administration
Vaccine Communications
Printable
version of this bulletin
The National Immunization Program
(NIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes
and distributes periodic bulletins to update partners about recent
developments related to the production, distribution, and administration
of influenza vaccine. All recipients of this bulletin are encouraged
to distribute each issue widely to colleagues, members, and constituents.
| Influenza
Vaccine Supply and Production |
The
FDA Approves FluMist™
On June 17, 2003, the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a license to Medimmune
Inc. to produce FluMist™, a live attenuated influenza
vaccine administered intranasally. To view the package insert
for this product, go to http://www.fda.gov/cber/label/inflmed061703LB.pdf
The Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will publish
recommendations for this new vaccine in the Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) before
the 2003-04 influenza vaccination season begins.
For additional information on the approval of FluMist™,
please see Flu News on the CDC-NIP web
site at http://www.cdc/nip/Flu/News.htm#flumist
Updated Projection
for This Year's Influenza Vaccine Supply
The three
influenza vaccine manufacturers licensed to produce vaccine
for the U.S. market, Aventis Pasteur, Powderject Vaccines
(which produces the Evans Vaccines brand), and Medimmune,
project an aggregate total of 86.5-93 million doses for
2003. This recent projection remains from 2 to 8.5 million
doses below last year's total production but exceeds the
estimated 79 million doses that were sold to individuals
in 2002.
The AMA Strongly
Supports Influenza Vaccination Efforts
In
a recent article published in the AMA/Federation
News, AMA Executive Vice President and CEO
Michael D. Maves, MD, affirmed the AMA's position on influenza
vaccination. While addressing attendees at the National
Influenza Vaccine Summit in Chicago on May 20, 2003, Maves
remarked, "We are committed to working with all of
you to support mechanisms to increase influenza vaccine
supply and vaccine demand among physicians, other providers,
and the public to reach the goals of Health People 2010."
Review
the entire article for additional highlights at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/2403-7702.html
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This Season,
Possible Relaxation of ACIP's Tiered Approach to Vaccination
On June 18,2003, the ACIP
voted to relax the tiered approach to vaccination if, by
late summer, vaccine production is proceeding satisfactorily.
If
the National Immunization Program (NIP), in consultation with
the FDA and the influenza vaccine manufacturers, decides to
relax the tiered approach for 2003, an announcement will be
published in the MMWR and in a subsequent issue of this bulletin.
The CDC and FDA staff will collaborate to draft a process
by which such a decision can be made this year.
The
Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program Expands to Cover Influenza
Vaccine
The
ACIP continues to encourage influenza vaccination for children
6-23 months of age and for household contacts and out-of-home
caregivers of children under 2 years of age. The Vaccines
for Children (VFC) program has expanded to cover VFC-eligible
children in these groups during the 2003-2004 flu season.
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- A
separate Vaccine Information Statement for FluMist™
will be distributed and posted on the NIP web site in the
near future.
- An
article in the January 8, 2003 Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA) by William
Thompson and colleagues revisits prior estimates of influenza-associated
deaths. New analyses of data suggest that, over the past
two decades, substantially more influenza-associated deaths
occurred among persons over 65 than was estimated previously.
Between 1990 and 1999, an average of about 36,000 influenza-associated
deaths occurred annually, a substantial increase over the
previous estimated average of 20,000.
- In
the April 3, 2003 issue of the New England Journal
of Medicine (NEJM), Kristin Nichol and colleagues
address the benefit of influenza vaccination in reducing
the risk of cardiovascular hospitalizations among the elderly
during influenza season.
- Review
web site updates, find details about influenza vaccination,
and access free promotional and educational materials on
the CDC-NIP web site at http://www.cdc.gov/nip/flu
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