Flu vaccine methods too outdated, say critics

SAN FRANCISCO -- The crisis in the nation's flu vaccine supply has led to renewed calls to modernize a half-century-old manufacturing system that relies on millions of chicken eggs and a lot of educated guesswork.

Because it takes at least six months to produce the annual flu vaccine, no manufacturer can replace the 46 million shots Chiron Corp. won't ship this season.

Citing manufacturing problems, British regulators on Tuesday shut down Chiron's factory in England where roughly 46 million doses destined for the United States had been made.

That leaves the nation with only 58 million shots for the more than 100 million people most vulnerable to the flu, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"In the face of a pandemic this is exactly what we will be faced with," said Dr. Robert Webster, a leading flu expert at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. "This is unacceptable in the United States. It is a bloody scandal."

Experts said the shortfall has exposed a clumsy manufacturing system woefully unprepared for emergencies such as the 1918 flu pandemic -- a public health crisis that scientists warn could happen again at any moment.

The manufacturing process could be improved by genetically engineering flu strains and brewing vaccines in human and monkey cells instead of chicken eggs, many scientists and health officials argue.

But efforts to update the system are still dogged by scientific problems, intellectual property tangles and market forces.

In the 1970s, there were as many as 25 flu vaccine makers. Today, there are only two major suppliers for the world.

That's because vaccine-making is a risky business with high levels of liability.