October 20, 2009

Massachusetts Department of Public Health (M DPH)

Division of Epidemiology and Immunization

Update Regarding Delays with Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Supply for 2009-2010

On September 16, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Immunization Program informed health care providers about potential delays with seasonal influenza vaccine. These delays were due to prioritization of H1N1 vaccine production and other manufacturing challenges. At that time, we were projecting having the majority of our state-supplied doses by the end of October and the balance by early November. To date, MDPH has received and distributed 616,590 doses of state-supplied seasonal flu vaccine, which is 70% of our total order of 885,000 doses. We have been informed by the manufacturers that we can expect additional shipments over the course of the next 4-6 weeks with the balance of our vaccine not arriving until the end of November. The supply situation for private-purchased vaccine is similar. Approximately 77 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine have been distributed nationally, as of October 2, 2009. This is approximately 61% of the expected doses for this season