US lacks back-up for flu vaccine shortfall

摘要

Public-health officials in the United States were left scrambling for alternative sources of influenza vaccine last week, after the surprise announcement that half the country's supply for this winter had been shelved. The problem came to a head on 5 October, when British regulators suspended the production of flu vaccine at the California-based Chiron Corporation's facility in Liverpool, UK, because of concerns over bacterial contamination. The suspension jeopardizes around half of the US supply.