Novartis Starts Shipping Seasonal Flu Vaccine to U.S.

Novartis has begun shipping its influenza vaccine, Fluvirin, to the U.S. for the 2007-2008 flu season, the company announced Aug. 16.

The company said it plans to ship approximately 40 million doses of Fluvirin to the U.S. for the upcoming season, of which nearly 7 million have already been made available.

Furthermore, Novartis expects to deliver at least 20 million doses by the end of September, with all doses expected to be sent by the end of October. The first lots of Fluvirin vaccine were released Aug. 8, making it the first trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine available this season, the company added.