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WARSAW / MILAN / VIENNA (REUTERS) – An increase in demand for vaccines to protect against winter flu has led to shortages in some European cities, increasing the risk of a potentially lethal “twindemic” such as the peak of Covid cases. 19.
Many governments pushed for vaccine orders this year and launched campaigns to encourage citizens to get vaccinated.
The goal was to vaccinate earlier than usual and cover more of the continent’s 450 million inhabitants to reduce the burden on health services.
Major manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Abbott and Seqirus have increased supplies to the region by an average of 30% in anticipation of increased demand.
But they are operating at full capacity and cannot meet all of the late additional demand, Vaccines Europe, which represents the producers, said in a statement on Wednesday (October 21).
Interviews with at least 10 municipal and government officials, as well as medical experts, also show that systems in major cities like Warsaw are struggling with strong initial demand, leading to delays and temporary shortages.
“This year, patients come all the time and ask about vaccinations, more than 10 people every day,” said Ms Grazyna Lenkowska-Mielniczuk, manager of Apteka Non Stop pharmacy in Warsaw’s Wola district.
“Wholesalers tell us the same thing we tell patients: there are no vaccines and we have to wait.”
Seasonal risk
The flu season in Europe begins in October and infections tend to increase between mid-November and early December, according to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Seasonal flu viruses cause 4-50 million infections each year and up to 70,000 Europeans die each year from flu-related causes, especially among older adults and risk groups.
Precautionary measures to curb the transmission of Covid-19, such as social distancing, the use of masks and hand washing, can help curb infections this season.
Flu transmission was “very limited” in the southern hemisphere this year for that reason, Dr. Sylvie Briand, director of Global Preparedness for Infectious Risks at the World Health Organization, said in a briefing last week.
Still, the rise in coronavirus infections across the continent prompted EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides to warn last month of the risk of a “twin disease Covid-19 and flu.”
Medical experts urge more people to get vaccinated to avoid a deeper crisis.
“There is a need to prevent a double wave of influenza plus Covid-19,” said Dr. Clemens Wendtner, chief physician for infectology and tropical medicine at the Schwabing Clinic in Munich, who recommends that people under the age of 60 receive the vaccine. this year.
Begging for supplies
The Polish Ministry of Health said it bought three million doses this year and will buy more if necessary; As of Tuesday, he had received 1.6 million injections.
But Mylan’s Influvac Tetra and Sanofi’s Vaxigrip Tetra vaccines are available in only 1 percent of pharmacies in Poland, according to gdziepolek.pl, a Polish website that helps patients find the nearest pharmacy with a drug they They are looking for.
GSK’s Fluarix Tetra is not available and AstraZeneca’s Fluenz Tetra is available in 5 percent of pharmacies, the website showed.
A spokeswoman for Mylan said the company was able to meet supply commitments in Poland and was monitoring supply levels. An AstraZeneca spokesperson said the company was not aware of the supply problems.
The disruption is felt in other parts of Europe.
In Belgium, a third of requested vaccines have yet to be delivered and some will arrive later than usual, according to the country’s drug agency. The government has reserved about three million vaccines this year, 10 percent more than last year.
In Klagenfurt, a city of 100,000 in southern Austria, authorities said in a statement that they had placed their regular order for vaccines in January and had tried unsuccessfully to increase their quota when the pandemic struck.
“There is already a severe flu vaccine shortage across Austria and there is a great need for action,” said city councilor Franz Petritz.
The Austrian government ordered 1.25 million vaccines for its population of nearly nine million, up 60 percent from last year, the Social Affairs Ministry said.
Doses only began arriving in mid-to-late September and it is taking time to reach vaccination centers across the country, he said, adding that it was unclear if more would be needed.
Drug manufacturers increase
Given the long lead times required for influenza vaccines to be produced, manufacturers made every effort to increase production in exceptional circumstances, Vaccines Europe said. But the ability to do more is now limited.
Dose allocation to countries generally takes place a year or more before flu season, and production for the Northern Hemisphere begins in early March.
The short lifespan also makes it difficult to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, a GSK spokesperson said.
The company seeks to produce and distribute more by 2020 and the next few years, but demand is expected to continue to exceed manufacturing capacity, he said.
Sanofi and AstraZeneca are delivering record volumes and have made an additional supply available, spokesmen for drug makers said.
The demand for doses of flu vaccine in Italy increased by more than 40 percent from last year to 17 million, said Massimo Scaccabarozzi, president of the association of Italian pharmaceutical companies.
But some local authorities only started ordering supplies this month.
“We have already reached the limit of our industrial possibilities,” said Scaccabarozzi.
“I do not know if it will be possible to increase the amount even more and to what extent if there are more requests.”
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