Reduction of Inventory and Allocations at the McKesson 2009 H1N1 Vaccine/ Ancillary Supply Distribution Depots

February 22, 2010, 4:30 PM ET

Background

Inventory capacity at CDC’s centralized distribution depots (McKesson) has been at 30 million doses of 2009 H1N1 vaccine (with comparable inventory capacity for ancillary supplies) since the program’s inception. Based on the current stage of the distribution program, CDC will maintain lower inventories of 2009 H1N1 vaccine and ancillary supplies at its centralized distribution depots as of April 1, 2010. This means that, over the next two months, CDC will gradually need to reduce inventory at the depots by approximately 50%. The goal of the reduction will be to maintain a reasonable inventory of 2009 H1N1 vaccine at the depots which will be available for order with additional vaccine in storage that could be shipped to the depots if needed.

Approach

CDC will bring inventory levels down at the depots over the next two months in several ways.

1. Approximately three million doses of Sanofi Pasteur 2009 H1N1 vaccine in pre-filled syringes at the depots that are affected by the recent recall/field adjustment will not be replaced.
2. The availability of viable 2009 H1N1 vaccine will be reduced significantly between March and June 2010 due to expiring vaccine that will not be replaced.  Based on the 2009 H1N1 vaccine available in inventory at this time: 

• 5.8 million doses of MedImmune vaccine will expire by the end of April 2010
• 7.7 million doses of Novartis vaccine in pre-filled syringes and multi-dose vials will expire by the end of May 2010
• 1.8 million doses of CSL vaccine in pre-filled syringes will expire by the end of June 2010.  Grantees should plan vaccine orders accordingly since doses will not be available for order if less that 4 weeks of shelf life remains. 

CDC will significantly reduce or eliminate replenishment orders for the depots during February and March 2010.

Any doses remaining above the 15 million doses at the end of March 2010 will be moved out of operating inventory and into storage.

Impact upon Grantees

Grantees will no longer see allocation increases or replenishments unless there is a significant increase in demand for vaccine.  In addition, grantees will see reductions in their allocation (both for H1N1 vaccine as well as the corresponding ancillary supply kits) based on the recent vaccine recall/field adjustment and product expiration.  These reductions in allocations began on February 11, 2010.

• The first reductions (February 11, 2010) reflected removal of all remaining Sanofi Pasteur vaccine in pre-filled syringes from grantee allocations since these products are no longer available for distribution.

Allocations will also be reduced each week based on vaccine doses that have only one month of shelf life remaining.  Specifically, CDC will block shipment of these short shelf life doses, thereby reducing grantee allocations to reflect the number of doses that are no longer available for shipping.

Vaccine and Ancillary Supply Swaps/Donations

Because CDC will significantly reduce or eliminate replenishment orders, CDC staff will continue to facilitate and support vaccine and ancillary supply swaps and donations for grantees who need additional vaccine or ancillary supplies. Grantees can contact H1N1 Vaccine Distribution for assistance.

Communication about Allocation Changes

In addition to grantee-specific information that will continue to be communicated in the Daily Allocation Balance Report, CDC will send messages to grantees to identify which vaccine products are being reduced due to expiry.