Learning From the Past

This seems positive:

two developments that could help avoid a recurrence of last year’s influenza vaccine shortage, the government yesterday said it approved a new flu shot and took a step toward allowing a major flu-vaccine supplier to resume distribution in the country.

Only two manufacturers sold flu vaccines in the United States last year, down from up to five within the past 20 years, a fact drugmakers blame on the high cost of producing the doses and the fluctuations in demand every year.

But the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Fluarix, produced by GlaxoSmithKline PLC for adults 18 and older, will introduce a third supplier for the coming flu season, which typically begins in October. The British company is expected to produce 8 million doses for the United States this year.

That will add to what is already in the pipeline: Sanofi Pasteur is expected to ship up to 60 million doses to the United States, and MedImmune Inc. of Gaithersburg is slated to make about 3 million doses of its nasal-spray flu vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And yes, I am struggling to find something good to report this week, and this is the best I can come up with.