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Madrid protects the flu campaign with 120,000 emergency doses
After missing out on the expected shipment of 119,800 doses from Viatris, the Comunidad de Madrid purchased 120,000 vaccines from Seqirus for 936,000 euros. The health department stated that no appointments were changed and no one was left unvaccinated.
The initial contract set at 540,000 the number of doses that Viatris Pharmaceuticals was to supply for the 2026-2027 flu campaign. As of 16 October, it had delivered 242,680, which is 44.95% of the total, and later confirmed that it could not provide the 119,800 units scheduled for the next shipment.
To fill this gap, the Comunidad de Madrid made an emergency award for the purchase of 120,000 doses from Seqirus Spain, for an amount of 936,000 euros. The Administration justified the measure by the need to maintain the campaign, which began on 5 October, and to meet appointments at vaccination centres.
The Consejería de Sanidad stated that no one was left without a vaccine or had to change their appointment. It also said that it was not necessary to modify the planning thanks to the monitoring of the receipt and distribution of doses at healthcare centres.
The problem arose after Viatris communicated on 7 October that it could not supply the original presentation and proposed another version of Influvac, in a pre-filled syringe with a needle. Salud Pública rejected this option because the tender excluded fixed needles that were not compatible with safety devices to prevent accidental needlestick injuries to healthcare staff.
The Administration requested formal confirmation from the company on 13 October. Three days later, Viatris confirmed in writing that it would not be able to deliver the 119,800 doses. It attributed the difficulty to technical problems affecting the manufacturer's production capacity, which, according to its explanation, were related to changes in the composition of the strains communicated by the World Health Organization later than in previous years.
The doses contracted from Seqirus correspond to Flucelvax, a vaccine produced using cell culture. The file notes that it can be used for the groups for whom the pending batch was intended: children between 6 and 23 months and people between 8 and 59 years old with risk factors, including certain cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory or kidney diseases. Salud Pública argued for the continuation of vaccination so that these groups achieve sufficient protection before the circulation of the virus increases and the epidemic threshold is reached.
The Atención Primaria del Servicio Madrileño de Salud centres usually administer around 85% of the vaccines in the campaign. Seqirus was already the awardee of another batch under the Acuerdo Marco for flu vaccines and confirmed that it could supply the requested doses. Sanidad noted that the final cost will depend on the penalties applied to the initial awardee. Viatris is also among the companies selected by the central government to supply vaccines under the Acuerdo Marco with the Ministerio de Sanidad.