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Updated Monday, January 11, 2010 5:40 pm TWN, By Ching-fang Chen and Fanny Liu, CNA

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DOH to consider returning surplus H1N1 vaccines

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Department of Health (DOH) is considering whether to return some of the 4.85 million doses of influenza A (H1N1) vaccine that are scheduled to be delivered later this month, to avoid waste of the vaccine because of the low immunization rate.

Although the public now has a choice between locally produced and imported H1N1 vaccines, the immunization rate has not risen since the imported vaccine became available last weekend, said Shih Wen-yih, deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Fewer than 7,000 people received the H1N1 vaccine Saturday and Sunday, he said, noting that 4,400 people chose the Swiss company's Novartis vaccine, while 2,400 opted for Taiwan's Adimmune product.

Last week, the H1N1 immunization rate was about 20,000 people per weekday, according to CDC data.

CDC Director Steve Hsu-Sung Kuo said there is no clear return policy in the vaccine procurement contract. So far, fewer than 6 million people have been inoculated, he noted, adding that health authorities will explore the possibility of returning surplus vaccine doses.

Some 2 million doses of the Adimmune vaccine and 2.85 million doses of the Novartis product will be delivered in mid- January, the CDC said.

Very few people have been seeking the H1N1 shots recently, therefore, the vaccine is not being offered on a daily basis unless there are specific numbers of registrants, according to Lin Yin-jan and Shih hsien-yen, two doctors who run clinics in Taipei City.

Because the vaccine must be used within 24 hours after a vial is opened, most hospitals and clinics required individuals to register in advance for the flu shot.

Adimmune has started to follow Novartis' lead, packaging the vaccine in 10-dose vials, but most of the local vaccines still come in 40-dose vials.

In order to avoid waste, the number of daily reservations for the vaccines has been reduced, the doctors added.

With the immunization drive slowing down in the wake of some highly publicized cases of serious side effects from the Adimmune vaccine, the DOH decided earlier this month to offer a choice between the Adimmune and Novartis vaccines.

The CDC said last week it hopes that the immunization rate will rise to 30 percent of the country's population by the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.

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