Manufacturing Delays Responsible For H1N1 Vaccine Shortage, Says Health And Human Services Official

By Marianna Levyash- Talk Radio News Service

A Health and Human Services official attributed the H1N1 vaccine shortage to manufacturing delays during a briefing Wednesday with the House Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

“While modest amounts of vaccine have been made ahead of schedule, poor production yields with the initial vaccine strains, late completion of seasonal influenza vaccine manufacturing, equipment failures on new production lines have caused significant delays,” said Nicole Lurie, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS.

Lurie also added that a handful of the countries producing vaccines have decided to give their population priority.

The Assistant Secretary assured the committee that HHS is doing everything in its power to assist the manufacturers to accelerating production.

Ranking Member Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) took a somewhat different stance on the vaccine delay, attributing it to domestic political policies.

“We have fewer [manufacturing companies] than we did a decade ago … some of that is based on what barriers the federal government has placed in front of creating businesses and keeping jobs in America.”