JULY 2005 Issue Brief Protecting the Nation’s Health: Ensuring a Stable Supply of Influenza Vaccine Erica Seiguer For more information about this ABSTRACT: The looming threat of an influenza pandemic concerns government study, please contact: officials worldwide as they attempt to address shortages and flaws in the vaccination Mary Mahon system. Currently, only two vaccine manufacturers are licensed for U.S. production. Public Information Officer This fact, combined with the complexity of production, has resulted in a supply that The Commonwealth Fund can be easily interrupted. Policymakers are considering various options to spur 1 East 75th Street New York,NY 10021-2692 research and development, stabilize the supply of vaccines, and improve their priori- Tel 212.606.3853 tization and distribution. Fax 212.606.3500 E-mail
[email protected] * * * * * Policy Context Recent flu vaccine production problems have underscored the uncertainty of an adequate and stable vaccine supply. For the 2004–2005 flu season, the U.S. supply is about 65 million doses, compared with the 100 million expected, due to the suspension of production at one of the two vaccine manufac- turers licensed by the Food and Drug Administration. Mismatches between supply and demand for vaccines in both directions have become common occurrences in recent years.The social and economic consequences of yearly influenza epidemics are significant. About 36,000 Americans die each year from influenza, and approximately 200,000 are hospitalized.The annual direct costs of medical care are estimated at $1 billion to $3 billion. When compounded with the indirect costs to business of declines in worker productivity (both from employee absenteeism due to illness and for caring for family members), costs for the 2004–2005 season are expected to Additional copies of this and 1 other Commonwealth Fund total $20 billion.