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Viatris has said it made the “difficult decision” not to supply its vaccine for the 2026-27 UK flu season and cancel all pre-orders across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to give pharmacies "sufficient time to secure alternative supply" after being informed of "production challenges".

The company, who said its notification applied “specifically to private market pre-orders”, told Independent Community Pharmacist its “third-party manufacturer” informed it that delays in the supply of seasonal flu vaccines “were anticipated” because of those challenges.

Viatris said those included the “simultaneous update of all” World Health Organisation-recommended vaccine strains and the "delayed availability of critical manufacturing materials”. 

“While annual strain updates are routine, simultaneous changes to all strains are uncommon and delayed the start of vaccine production, affecting supply timelines,” a Viatris spokesperson said.

“Based on the revised schedule, vaccine doses would not have been available in time to support customers' planned vaccination activities during the key months of the flu season.”

Give customers sufficient time to secure alternative supply

Viatris said it decided not to supply its flu vaccine for the 2026-27 UK season “to give customers sufficient time to secure alternative supply and help ensure patients could be vaccinated on schedule”.

“Viatris remains committed to supporting healthcare professionals and public health efforts to protect patients against influenza,” the spokesperson said.

Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland chief executive Gerard Greene said: “If replacement pre-orders cannot be sourced, there will be significant operational challenges for those pharmacies who had intended offering private flu vaccination services this winter.

“This could also have wider public health implications for members of the public who are not eligible for vaccination under the commissioned 2026-27 seasonal influenza vaccine programme."

Greene urged health service officials to explore if the patient eligibility criteria for the programme “can be extended so that as many members of the public as possible can access the commissioned vaccination service through community pharmacies in Northern Ireland”.