Authorities promise to speed production of Tamiflu vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government pledged Monday to expedite manufacturing of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu as its maker negotiates with other companies to boost production. The drug is in high demand as countries prepare for a possible bird-flu outbreak.
If Swiss manufacturer Roche Holding AG licenses other companies to begin producing Tamiflu, the Food and Drug Administration would have to approve those factories' versions. The FDA has set up a "rapid response team" to ease roadblocks to Tamiflu manufacturing and speed evaluation of any other anti-influenza products needed if a pandemic begins.
Monday's announcement came even as federal health officials sought to direct Americans' attention away from bird flu and toward an immediate threat: the regular winter flu that every year claims 36,000 lives in the United States.
Until Monday, the first supplies of winter flu shots were reserved for the elderly, babies, people with asthma and others at highest risk of influenza complications. Now, with vaccine supplies steadily growing, those shots are open to anybody who wants one, said Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.
The annual flu shot doesn't protect against bird flu, however, experts say.
But it is vital to get protected against seasonal flu, which is just beginning to circulate, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The government anticipates at least 70 million doses of flu vaccine will be available this year, not counting supplies from Chiron Corp., which has said it will ship fewer than its originally promised 18 million doses.
Tamiflu is one of four drugs that can treat regular flu. It is in short supply because it is being stockpiled as one of two drugs effective against bird flu.