China's flu vaccine supply can meet demand

The supply of flu vaccines can meet demand in general across the country as China is entering the peak season for flu, according to the top health authority.

The total supply of flu vaccines this year is more than twice the amount of flu vaccines used last year during the winter and spring, the flu season in most parts of China, said Wang Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission's Disease Control and Prevention Department, at a news conference on Thursday.

The commission coordinated with many vaccine producers before the arrival of winter this year so production of flu vaccines this year has increased, she said.

However, some places with a higher density of population may be temporarily short of vaccines due to concentrated vaccination, and the commission would immediately notify local authorities to ease shortages through the distribution of vaccines in such cases, she said.

The latest monitoring showed some places have entered the peak season for flu, and at present there is no significant increase in the outbreaks of flu and other infectious diseases, Wang said.

The number of flu outbreaks will gradually decrease with the arrival of the winter vacation for schools and infant nurseries, she said.

Li Zhongjie, a researcher in infectious diseases in the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said monitoring has shown the prevalence of flu this year in most parts of China will remain at the normal level, and it is expected that the flu prevalence will start declining in February.