India to exhibit greatest surge in flu vaccine demand over next decade: Global Data

While US demand for influenza vaccines will remain high in the coming decade, following a post-flu pandemic spike, India is expected to exhibit the greatest surge in vaccine demand over the next 10 years, climbing at a Annual Growth Rate (AGR) of 2.1 per cent. However, despite this relative growth, GlobalData estimates that the percentage of influenza-vaccinated citizens in India will total a meagre 1.7 per cent of the population by 2022.

GlobalData’s Seasonal Influenza Vaccines EpiCast Report provides an overview of risk factors for seasonal influenza and global trends for seasonal influenza vaccination coverage in nine major markets: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, India, and China.

According to the report, seasonal influenza vaccine demand will increase from the 142 million expected for 2012 to 158 million in 2022, representing an AGR of 1.2 per cent. After the H1N1 (originally named ‘swine flu’) pandemic claimed thousands of lives across the US in 2009, the number of those vaccinated annually climbed significantly – from 24 per cent in 2007 to 41 per cent in 2010 for citizens aged 5-64 years – according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new GlobalData report says that the primary driver for the predicted growth in influenza vaccine demand will be a general increase in the US population and the corresponding rise in those classed as high-risk, such as the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions.

EP News Bureau – Mumbai