Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Supply Chain
May 23, 2021 08:12 PM

Flu vaccine distributors had strong 2020 sales, but they expect a slump this year

Shuan Sim, Crain's New York Business
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Flu Shot_i.png

    Influenza vaccine

    Although the U.S. had one of its mildest flu seasons in 2020-2021, flu vaccine distributors and manufacturers were not negatively affected during that period. Their sales were locked in before anyone knew there would be a global Covid-19 pandemic.

    The companies have noted softer sales so far this year, however. And because of the way their distribution systems are set up, there might be fewer shots available for the upcoming flu season. That, coupled with relaxed mask wearing and increased travel, could lead to bad outcomes once the season hits.

    At the start of last year, many distributors had a bumper "prebooking" period, in which orders were placed for the upcoming season, said Michael Einhorn, president of Dealmed, a Brooklyn-based distributor of medical supplies and vaccines. Distributors prebook partly based on their sales the season before, then manufacturers produce a specific number of doses, he said.

    Seqirus, a vaccine manufacturer in Summit, N.J., increased its flu shots output by 20% for the 2020–2021 season, said Dave Ross, vice president of North American commercial operations.

    Flu season typically runs from October to May, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The medical community had been expecting the 2020–2021 flu season to be worse than the one before it, Ross said. But according to CDC, the hospitalization rate this flu season in America was just 0.7 per 100,000 people—the lowest since the agency started tracking flu data in 2005.

    Covid-related measures such as masks and social distancing brought the current flu rate to a new low. Another factor is that the pandemic might have prompted more residents to seek out a flu shot.

    "We were sold out of our flu vaccines by October, and there was no way to get any more," Einhorn said. "Perhaps because the Covid vaccine was not available yet, people were eager for any way not to fall sick, and covering their bases with flu was one such way."

    In October New York City reported a 37% increase in adult flu vaccinations and a 27% boost for children, compared with the previous season.

    Lower flu rates have in turn dampened expected vaccine demand for the 2021–2022 flu season. With demand lower, the amount of doses being manufactured is likely lower too.

    A spokeswoman for Henry Schein, a medical supplier in Melville, Suffolk County, pointed to the company's first-quarter earnings, which show muted sales. Excluding sales of personal protective equipment and other Covid-related products, the distributor's medical sales were down 7%, according to its financial filings.

    In September Dealmed was expecting a 25% increase in this year's prebooking, but there has been uncertainty from providers about how much to order for the upcoming season, Einhhorn said.

    "We initially saw strong early numbers," he said, "but then we suddenly saw sales fall off."

    He added that acquisition costs for the vaccines were up 20% on average this year, placing a further squeeze on that segment.

    Some stakeholders are concerned the next flu season might be particularly nasty.

    There could be a surge in the winter, especially in light of the reopenings occurring now, warned Dr. Purvi Parikh, an allergist and immunologist at NYU Langone Health.

    "Due to this current flu season being so mild, people might have their guards down and might be less aggressive about getting their flu shot," Parikh said. People are gathering and traveling more, she noted.

    Even if the next flu season is a bad one, there are reasons to be optimistic, said Dr. Waleed Javaid, director of infection prevention and control at Mount Sinai Downtown.

    "Flu cases went drastically down not solely because of vaccines but because of masking and social distancing," Javaid said. With people more cognizant of the benefits of masking, especially when they're sick, the practice could become more common, mitigating the severity of the flu season, he said.

    But, he said, it's important to start talking about the risks now.

    "If we don't plan early," he said, "that worry of a bad season will come true."

    This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's New York Business.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Novavax missed Its global moonshot but is angling to win over mRNA defectors
    Novavax missed Its global moonshot but is angling to win over mRNA defectors
    A healthcare worker nurses an infant
    Sick kids, anxious parents turn to hospitals amid formula shortage
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Dose Newsletter: Sign up to receive a late afternoon weekday roundup of that day’s breaking news and developments in healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing