WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (AFP) - The US government announced Tuesday it had teamed up with Aventis Pasteur, part of French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis Group, to launch a pre-emptive strike against possible influenza outbreaks across the United States this winter.
The French drug group has been called in by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the recently announced loss of half of the US' expected flu vaccine supply for the 2004-2005 winter.
"This plan will ensure that vaccine gets to those people who need it most," CDC director Julie Gerberding said in a statement.
"It is a huge logistical feat and we are proud to have contributed our knowledge and expertise to this plan," said Damian Braga, president of Aventis Pasteur US.
The CDC sought the French group's help after the British government suspended a US company's license to make a vaccine at a British plant that officials here feared could cause a shortage on the eve of the influenza season.
The US group, Chiron, had been due to produce between 46 million to 48 million doses of flu vaccine for the United States.
The new plan calls for Aventis to ship in phases 22.4 million doses of vaccine to critical areas around the country.
About 14.2 million doses of Aventis' vaccine will initially be distributed over the next six to eight weeks to high-priority centers, including hospitals, long-term care facilities and nursing homes.
A further 8.2 million Aventis vaccines will be shipped to other high-need providers after the completion of the first phase of the plan.
Priority groups include all children aged six to 23 and adults over 65, as well as those with chronic medical ailments.
The French pharmaceutical group had already packed some 52 million doses of its Fluzone vaccine for 2004, of which some 30 million have already been dispatched.
The US flu season typically peaks between December and March.