Seasonal flu vaccine distribution remains below guideline levels, despite growth worldwide, IFPMA study shows

A new International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) study, announced last Friday at the Options for the Control of Influenza VII conference in Hong Kong, shows that global vaccine coverage remains uneven and low overall, despite total distribution of seasonal influenza vaccines nearly doubling over the last six years.

The study, which surveyed IFPMA influenza vaccine company members2, found that less than one in three countries receives sufficient vaccine to immunize 10% of its inhabitants, although the number of seasonal influenza vaccine doses distributed annually worldwide between 2004 and 2009 grew from 262 million to 449 million, an increase of 72%.

Members of the IFPMA Influenza Vaccine Supply task force are: Abbott Biologicals, Baxter, Biken, Crucell, CSL, Denka Seiken, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Green Cross, Kaketsuken, Kitasato Institute, MedImmune, Nobilon, Novartis Vaccines, Sanofi Pasteur,
Sanofi Pasteur MSD and Sinovac.