MEDIA ADVISORY: INCREASING Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Supply

MEDIA ADVISORY: INCREASING Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Supply

October 19, 2006

    If an influenza pandemic were to occur in the near
future, there would be a shortage of several billion doses
of the pandemic influenza vaccine needed to protect the
global population.

    -- What activities are required to increase future
pandemic influenza 
       vaccine production capacity?
    -- Who will undertake this action? 
    -- How long will it take to fill the gap and how much
will it cost?
    -- What are the challenges?
    -- What characteristics would an ideal pandemic
influenza vaccine have?

    WHAT: News conference to release the new World Health
Organization Global pandemic influenza action plan to
increase vaccine supply. The 14-page Global Action Plan
will be posted at
http://www.who.int/vaccines-documents/DocsPDF06/863.pdf
at 14:00 CET on 23 October 2006.

    WHEN: Monday, 23 October 2006; 14:00-15:00 (2 p.m. to 3
p.m.) Central European Time (CET)

    WHERE: UN Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Room
III.
Journalists based around the world may listen to the news
conference and ask questions.  The telephone number to dial
into the news conference is: [phone].  The code
which must then be entered is 41417.

    WHO: 
    Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, Director, Initiative for Vaccine
Research, World 
     Health Organization;
    Dr David L. Heymann, acting Assistant Director-General
for Communicable  
     Diseases and Representative of the Director-General
for Polio Eradication,   
     World Health Organization;
    Dr Keiji Fukuda, Coordinator, Global Influenza
Programme, World Health         
     Organization;

    For more information, please contact: 

     Melinda Henry,
     WHO Department of Immunization, 
     Vaccines and Biologicals, Geneva
     Tel:    [phone]
     Mobile: [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]
     Web:    http://www.who.int/immunization

     Dick Thompson,
     Team Leader, 
     Pandemic and Outbreak Communications
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]

SOURCE  World Health Organization