The Working Group on Influenza Vaccine Supply Hubs was a follow up of the 2006-2016 Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines (GAP) which focused on increasing equitable access to pandemic influenza vaccine. Under the GAP, WHO supported 14 developing countries to establish influenza vaccine manufacturing capacity. Nine of these GAP grantees have approved products (some are prequalified) or will have approved products by 2019. Collectively, these grantees are expected to potentially contribute more than one billion doses of pandemic vaccines.

Pandemic preparedness for influenza depends on maintaining annual production of seasonal influenza vaccine. This working group considered conditions that could improve or inhibit the sustainable supply of influenza vaccine from four GAP grantees (Serum Institute of India, India; Government Pharmaceutical Organization, Thailand; Institute of Vaccine and Medical Biologicals, Vietnam and BCHT, China). These manufacturers can supply influenza vaccine to their domestic markets with the potential to export excess vaccine. Maintaining seasonal influenza vaccine production capacity in developing countries enhances national and global access to pandemic influenza vaccine in the event of an outbreak.

The working group provided recommendations regarding:

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The need for realistic seasonal influenza vaccine demand forecasting in developing countries;

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WHO prequalification by manufacturers with large-scale export capacity after domestic uptake; and

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The importance of risk communication to highlight vaccination benefits.

The country delegations presented their influenza vaccine policies: China’s free and mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers; the Indian state of Maharashtra’s vaccination of pregnant women; Thailand’s vaccination of high risk populations; and Vietnam’s plans to vaccinate 136,000 healthcare workers by 2020.

Multisectoral collaboration is required to ensure seasonal influenza vaccine uptake and pandemic influenza vaccine preparedness. The WHO Influenza Preparedness and Response (IPR) team is coordinating with UNICEF, the Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to improve access to influenza vaccines. WHO IPR is also collaborating with the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to support strategic planning for sustainable influenza vaccine production.