(Cox News Service) -- Pharmaceutical companies will produce fewer doses of the influenza vaccine this year, but the supply is expected to exceed demand, a CDC official said Wednesday.

An estimated 84.5 million to 91 million doses of the vaccine will be manufactured, according to Dr. Dennis O'Mara, an associate director at the CDC's National Immunization Program.

O'Mara spoke before the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Roughly 6 million of those doses will be in the form of the first needle-free flu vaccine, FluMist, a nasal spray approved by the FDA Tuesday for people ages 5 to 49.

Though the total number of vaccine doses manufactured will decrease, O'Mara said a shortage is unlikely.

"It's somewhat less than what was produced the past couple of years, but the 2003 projections should exceed the demand observed in 2002," he said.

A record 95 million vaccine doses were produced last year, a relatively mild flu season, O'Mara said.

The Food and Drug Administration has recommended that this year's vaccine contain three strains -- A New Caledonia, A Moscow and B Hong Kong.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to vote this morning on specific recommendations, including whether to discourage health care workers and people who are in close contact with patients with immune deficiencies from using the nasal spray.

Doctors routinely follow the panel's recommendations on immunizations, which are published by the CDC.

"Fifteen percent of health care workers are afraid of needles and will not get vaccinations as a result of that," said committee member Dr. Gregory A. Poland, a professor at the Mayo Clinic who argued that the new vaccine option could save lives.

The committee also is expected to vote on recommendations regarding smallpox vaccination in the United States, including whether to implement a second phase that calls for inoculating up to 3 million first responders -- police officers, firefighters and paramedics.

Copyright 2003 Cox News Service. All rights reserved.