Flu vaccine: most stock to arrive by November, but some orders will be delayed

Most of the vaccine stock ordered for the coming flu season will arrive before 31 October (the current date for the UK to leave the European Union), but some general practices and pharmacists will face delays.

Sanofi Pasteur, which is supplying the quadrivalent vaccine (QIVc), will deliver a third of its deliveries after 31 October. To try to prevent any flu vaccine shortages, England’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, has ordered an additional 400 000 doses of quadrivalent vaccine, which will arrive before 31 October.

For the 2019-20 flu season 25 million people will be able to get vaccinated, one million more than last …