The first doses of influenza vaccine are being shipped to the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) for their distribution in support of the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and to healthcare providers including private physicians’ offices. This shipment represents the first of approximately 50 million doses planned for production this year.
Sanofi Pasteur will begin partial shipments to customers in August as part of the company’s split delivery process, which will allow all customers to begin immunizing patients. Vaccine shipments will continue through the autumn and are planned to be complete by the end of October.
The company produces approximately half of the influenza vaccine distributed worldwide and more than 40% of influenza vaccine distributed in the US. It is expanding its influenza vaccine production facility in the US. This expansion, slated to come online by the end of 2008 or in early 2009, will more than double US production capacity.