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One of the aims of the WHO Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines (GAP) was to transfer influenza vaccine production technology to interested manufacturers and governments in developing countries, to enable greater influenza vaccine manufacturing capacity against any pandemic threat or pandemic. For this objective, the GAP was supported by an independent Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to assist WHO to select vaccine manufacturing proposals for funding and to provide programmatic support for successful grantees. While there were many challenges, for both the TAG and grantees, there were also notable successes with an additional capacity of 338-600 million pandemic vaccine doses being made possible by the programme between 2007 and 2015, and a potential capacity of more than 600 million by 2016/17 with up to one billion doses expected by 2018/19. Seasonal vaccine production was also developed in 4 countries with another 4-5 countries expected to be producing seasonal vaccine by 2018/19. The relatively small WHO investments - in time and funding - made in these companies to develop their own influenza vaccine production facilities have had quite dramatic results., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The stability of five batches of oral polio vaccine stored at -20, 4-8, 22 and 36 degrees C for 7, 14 and 21 days was studied. The virus titrations were performed by the standard macro-method. There was little loss in virus titre when samples were kept at -20 and 4-8 degrees C for 21 days, whereas the samples exposed to 36 degrees C for 21 days showed almost complete loss in virus titre. The average loss in virus titre in a year (log TCID50) was 0.47 at -20 degrees C and 0.65 at 4-8 degrees C when various samples were stored at these temperatures. At 22 degrees C the average loss in virus titre after 21 days was about 1.50. The samples subjected to ten cycles of freezing and thawing did not show any loss in virus titre. Likewise there was not much loss in virus titre in three samples stored at 4-8 degrees C for a year. Oral polio vaccine stabilized with magnesium chloride is quite a stable vaccine and maintenance of a proper cold chain is recommended for the delivery of a potent vaccine in countries with high ambient temperature.