WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Federal health officials said Thursday they have procured an extra 250,000 doses of influenza vaccine to help ameliorate shortages in some regions of the country.
All of the additional vaccine came from Aventis Pasteur, the largest flu vaccine manufacturer in the United States.
Last week, Aventis, of Swiftwater, Pa., and its competitor, Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif., announced they had exhausted their entire supply of vaccine. But Aventis had been holding onto a reserve of 250,000 doses explicitly for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
"The Department has just completed the purchase of ... 100,000 doses of adult vaccine from Aventis," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said during a news briefing. "It is being shipped to state health departments now. It is expected to arrive in the states by the end of the week," Thompson said.
"We've also purchased from Aventis Pasteur an additional 150,000 doses of pediatric vaccine and expect to have it ready for shipment to the states by January," he added.
This year's vaccine supply -- 83-million doses -- was rapidly exhausted due to heavy demand by a public concerned about an early onset of the flu season and the deaths of several children from the disease.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC's director, said the worst may not be over because the flu season does not appear to have reached its peak yet.
"There is widespread influenza activity in 24 states" and every state has reported flu cases, she said, but noted, "There's some early information suggesting that possibly things may be leveling off in some of the states that were hardest hit. It's just too soon to say for sure whether or not that indeed is the case."
Gerberding said despite concern about the deaths of 11 children and reports of more severe disease in some people, at this point there are no indications this year's outbreak is worse than previous years. The flu generally kills approximately 36,000 people annually.
"It's too early in the course of the outbreak to say for sure how this will compare overall," she said. "But obviously the early start and the early widespread activity has given us a great deal of concern."
The predominant strain continues to be the Fujian strain, which emerged too late to be included in this year's vaccine supply.
Gerberding said she was hopeful the vaccine "will provide protection for this strain, given the laboratory evidence that we have and past experience we've had (when there's been) slight mismatches between vaccine and circulating influenza strains of this type."
Regarding concerns the Fujian strain may be causing more severe disease in children, Gerberding said there is no information to support that and it is not unusual for flu to strike this age group and even cause death.
"There's no evidence that this particular flu season or this particular Fujian strain of influenza that we're dealing with is any more dangerous than similar strains we've experienced in the past," she said.
Gerberding urged available vaccine supplies to be used first for the most vulnerable, including people over age 65 and young infants between ages 6 to 23 months. Those with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women in their second or third trimester also should be given priority.
Thompson noted health officials will continue to look for additional vaccine. "We're exploring all options for possibly purchasing ... additional supplies," he said.
This may involve going overseas because Gerberding noted preliminary searches across the states have not found any vaccine surplus. "We don't have any information to suggest there's a big reserve hidden away somewhere," she said.
The CDC had said Tuesday it was considering purchasing vaccine from Chiron's United Kingdom office, and Gerberding said these efforts were still ongoing.
"The situation with Chiron is still under evaluation," she said. The United Kingdom vaccine "is not cleared for use in the United States so the safety and availability of that are still something the (Food and Drug Administration) and Secretary Thompson's staff are looking into."
She added: "We can expect ongoing shortages of vaccine so we will have to focus on other steps we can take."
These include staying home from school or work if infected with the flu, covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and washing hands. Additionally, antiviral medications that can both prevent and treat flu infection are available, she said.
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Steve Mitchell is UPI's Medical Correspondent. E-mail [email protected]
