Thousands of patients have had their flu jabs cancelled while a batch of vaccines has extra safety checks.
Crucell, which supplies 10 per cent of all flu vaccines in Britain, is delaying delivery of thousands of doses while they investigate “unexpected test results”.
It means 2,000 people in London and the South-East have had their annual jabs cancelled while GPs try to find alternative suppliers.
Vulnerable patients including the elderly, pregnant women, children and patients with asthma, lung conditions and diabetes have all been affected.
Doctors said patients will be sent new dates, and the vaccine has just been delayed. But patients are concerned that they are at risk because autumn flu strains are already circulating.
A spokeswoman for Crucell, which manufactures the flu vaccine in Switzerland, said: “We are holding delivery of our vaccine due to an unexpected test result in our latest batches.” She said that all batches are routinely tested internally before being released and the extra checks and delay in the delivery were just a precaution. The results are expected on Monday.
A spokesman for the health department said: “We are aware of some unexpected delays to one supplier’s deliveries of the flu vaccine and advise GP practices to contact alternative suppliers if they are having problems.”
There are eight main vaccine suppliers for GPs to choose from.
The department has a strategic reserve of about 400,000 doses but is not expected to dip into this.
In August GP practices sent out letters reminding patients of the importance of the vaccines, which save about 10,000 lives a year.
A spokesman for NHS London said: “This is a delay in supply and not a shortage.” He added that changes to appointments “should be limited” and the best time to be vaccinated is between late October and early November.
