President Donald Trump yesterday issued an executive order directing the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to overhaul seasonal flu vaccine production and urge more Americans to be vaccinated.

Weaknesses in current production methods
In the executive order, President Trump emphasized that each year, flu vaccines prevent millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths. It also acknowledged that a deadly flu pandemic could inflict trillions of dollars of damage on the economy.

"Unfortunately, many of the vaccines we use today are produced overseas, using time-consuming, egg-based technology, which limits their effectiveness and makes production too slow to effectively combat a potentialdeadly influenza pandemic," the White House said in a statement.

In a related fact sheet, Trump said, "We want a safe and healthy future for every American family."

Improving flu vaccines and developing universal formulations was part of proposed Senate bill last year that would have invested $1 billion in research over the next 5 years.