The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration defended the agency’s decision not to use an additive that could have stretched swine flu vaccine supplies, adding that doses should be coming more regularly.

The vaccine to prevent the H1N1 strain of influenza has been in short supply following production issues but more doses are becoming available, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said on Thursday at the Reuters Health Summit in New York.

“The gap between need and availability is narrowing. I think we are going to see doses coming off the lines and into people’s arms or noses on a regular basis now,” Hamburg said.

U.S. health officials have been scrambling to get the swine flu vaccine to market after the virus emerged too late to be included in this year’s regular seasonal flu version. Initially, officials said there would be enough for everyone, but the public quickly grew frustrated when supplies ran short.

The FDA has approved H1N1 vaccine from five makers who already produce seasonal flu vaccine — GlaxoSmithKline Plc, AstraZeneca Plc’s MedImmune unit, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, and CSL Limited.

Both products use an egg-based technology to produce the vaccine, but the H1N1 virus grew slower than expected in the eggs, Hamburg said. She added the agency is working with manufacturers to move toward other, more efficient technology such as cell-based cultures that could spur production.

Hamburg said it was not too late for people to benefit from immunization.

Source/Full Story: Reuters
Technorati Tags: H1N1

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