Sanofi to Deliver More U.S. Flu Jabs Than Expected

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Flu vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur said on Thursday it will deliver 62 million doses of influenza vaccine to the U.S. market this season -- 12 million doses more than originally planned.

The company, a division of France's Sanofi-Aventis Group, said it shipped more than 58 million doses to customers by the end of November. This was six weeks ahead of the original schedule.

"The remaining 3.5 million doses will be delivered in January to the late-season stockpile established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the company said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the CDC said it expected a total of 81 million doses of influenza vaccine for the U.S. market from four companies -- Sanofi, California-based Chiron Corp., Britain's GlaxoSmithKline and MedImmune of Maryland.

That included 55 million Sanofi doses, but the company has been squeezing out more than expected in the complicated and old-fashioned influenza vaccine-making process that uses chicken eggs.

The CDC expects 7.5 million vaccine doses from GlaxoSmithKline, 1 million doses of nasally administered vaccine from MedImmune and 8 million from Chiron. Most are distributed by private suppliers to hospitals, clinics, companies and other vaccine providers.

Last year, health officials hoped to vaccinate 100 million Americans, the most ever. But Chiron experienced contamination at its British-based factory and lost its license, resulting in the loss of half the anticipated U.S. supply.

The disruption caused long lines at flu vaccination clinics and left many people unvaccinated.

This year, a feared pandemic of H5N1 avian influenza has added to the pressure and demand has caused spot shortages in some areas. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against avian flu -- it is formulated to defend against three other strains: H1N1, H3N2 and the influenza B strain.

Influenza kills about 36,000 Americans in an average year and puts 200,000 into the hospital. The CDC recommends that 185 million Americans get vaccinated against flu, including the very old, the very young and chronically ill, but fewer than half this number ever are.