I am writing to clarify a quote that was attributed to me in “Flu vaccine system strained” (Page 1, Dec. 10). Talking about influenza vaccine, the quote stated that vaccine producers “don’t produce a lot of vaccine . . . “
In fact, the manufacturers of vaccine that supply our country produce a substantial amount of vaccine each year. The amount is usually slightly less than 100 million doses. The decision to manufacture this amount is based on projections of sales and orders from consumers of influenza vaccines. This is a substantial amount of vaccine to manufacture. If, as is suggested by the apparent demand for vaccine this year, it is decreed that more doses need to be manufactured, I have no doubt that the manufacturers of influenza vaccines can rise to the task.
We are, as I mentioned in the article, living in a capitalistic society. Corporate manufacturers are responsible to their stockholders. Thus the tightrope on which they must walk involves making enough vaccine to satisfy demand and, at the same time, avoiding wastage from having made too much.
Perhaps in a few years, the vaccine community can develop a strategy by which an ample supply is assured even in an unpredictably heavy demand year such as this one. Perhaps this could be structured in a way that allows manufacturers to be financially protected from loss in the event that demand does not measure up to manufactured inventory for a given year. I hope that this clarifies my view. I did not wish to imply that vaccine manufacturers do not make substantial amounts of vaccine. They make, in fact, many millions of doses.
