Flu injection hitch in the US

Uncertainties over vaccine supply and demand dominated a two-day brainstorming session for the United States' approaching flu season, where public health officials and manufacturers discussed ways to avoid a crisis like last year's shortage.

So far, only one manufacturer is licensed to provide shots in the United States.

Public health officials worry that having to turn away people who showed up for flu shots last year might have left many discouraged and unlikely to seek them this year - leaving many unprotected against a disease that, in an average year, infects about 82 million people, sends 200,000 to hospital and kills 36,000.