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Millions of flu shots will be destroyed

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 21, 2007

Millions of doses of flu vaccine will expire at midnight June 30, unsold during this year's mild flu season and written off as trash. Still good, and possibly useful for a few more years, the vaccine will be destroyed.

This annual ritual is supposed to ensure that Americans get the most up-to-date vaccine, but the leftovers - more than 10-million of a record 110-million doses produced - will be destroyed before a new supply is guaranteed.

An Associated Press examination of this long-standing practice raises questions about its consequences. For years, policymakers have talked about letting doctors keep unused vaccine until new doses are in hand, donating leftover supplies to poor countries, or pushing back the expiration date.

Having no vaccine in the summer deprives travelers of the chance to get a shot before they visit places where flu is in season. It also prevents summer vaccinations for children, who need two doses the first time around.

"All of those issues have come up in the past," but there is a strong reluctance to change policy, said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, a government vaccine adviser.

The June 30 expiration date is set by the Food and Drug Administration. However, vaccine degrades slowly and not into anything harmful, said Dr. Peter Patriarca, a scientist who formerly worked for vaccinemaker MedImmune Inc. and once headed the FDA's vaccine division.

"There is some benefit to a system where unused vaccine is discarded," said Dr. John Treanor, a vaccine expert at the University of Rochester in New York.

[Last modified March 21, 2007, 02:08:57]