MDCH has heard from citizens, health care, and other immunization providers who are frustrated because they are not currently able to obtain seasonal influenza vaccine.

Their concerns mirror reports in the media and from physicians that demand for seasonal influenza vaccine appears to be substantially higher this year than last year.

Q:  Where should I look for seasonal influenza vaccine?

A:  For individuals and families, MDCH recommends first checking with your provider or your local health department.

If you are a health care professional looking for flu vaccine, please visit the National Influenza Vaccine Summit webpage. Other resources include the Influenza Vaccine Availability Tracking System (IVATS) or the Influenza Vaccine Exchange Network (IVEN).  If you are a VFC provider looking for VFC flu vaccine, please contact your local health department.  Providers who have more vaccine than they anticipate using, are being encouraged to work with their local health department or to use IVEN to identify other providers for the vaccine.

Q: How much seasonal influenza vaccine is going to be available this year?

A: Manufacturers now estimate that a total of 114 million doses will be brought to the U.S. market.  This current projection is very close (97%) to the planned number of 118 million doses and is approximately the same as the number of doses that were actually administered last year.

Q: When will the seasonal influenza vaccine be distributed to immunization providers?

A:  As of October 16, 2009, 85 million doses (74% of the doses expected this season) had already been distributed in the private and public sectors.  Seasonal flu vaccine was made available earlier this season compared to previous influenza seasons.

Q:  If so much seasonal influenza vaccine has been manufactured and distributed, why can't I find any?

A: People have been responding to vaccine availability by getting immunized earlier this season.  Data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry and two other systems that look at vaccinations administered and billed show that many more individuals have been vaccinated so far this season than at the same time last year; this may be due to the early availability of vaccine. 

Q:  I ordered influenza vaccine for my practice, but my order has not been filled - why?

A:  There are several reasons for delayed and canceled orders.  First, some manufacturers fell short of their planned number of doses, and took orders that exceed the number of doses they now expect to make which has, in turn, caused their distributors to cancel or cut back on some vaccine orders.  Second, some manufacturers have had a delay in the availability of vaccine, and this is resulting in orders that won't be completed until November.  Finally, each year, some immunization providers order vaccine from more than one manufacturer or distributor, and then cancel other orders after the earliest vaccine is received.  Because of this ordering pattern, some vaccine usually becomes available in October.  We have not seen this so far this season, however.  We are not seeing additional vaccine being released into the market as has been the case in past years.

Q:  Will there be enough seasonal influenza vaccine to meet the demand this year?

A:  If the anecdotal reports about increased demand turn out to be correct, the extra demand cannot be fully met because the total number of doses that will be made this year is approximately the same as the number of doses that were actually administered last year.

 Q: Why don't the manufacturers start producing more seasonal influenza vaccine to meet the  increased demand?

A: Manufacturers are not able to produce more seasonal influenza vaccine for this season because their facilities are currently being used for H1N1 vaccine production, which takes several months.  Thus, these facilities would not be available for additional non-H1N1 vaccine production in time for this influenza season.

Additional Resources

CDC: Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Supply for the U.S. 2009-10 Influenza Season