Seqirus announces $9M expansion of Holly Springs site

HOLLY SPRINGS (WTVD) -- Seqirus announced a $9 million expansion of its Holly Springs site Thursday.

Executives said the expansion will help Seqirus meet its goal of quadrupling the number of doses of flu vaccine produced on site.

The expansion will add 15,000 square feet to the warehouse, where raw materials are stored to make flu vaccines.

"It will probably increase the warehouse staff by about 50 percent," said Dr. John Anderson, Seqirus Vice President of Operations and Holly Springs Site Head. "We will need to have more people to handle more material. Also, we're likely to be operating a late afternoon, late evening shift as well as a day shift."

Executives said the expansion will also help them stay on top of pandemic preparedness.

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The warehouse expansion is expected to be completed in October of 2018 and be fully functional by December.

North Carolina Senator Tamara Barringer and Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears spoke at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony.

Some medical experts are warning this year's flu shot may not be as effective, based on Australia's flu season.

But Anderson is still touting the benefits of the flu vaccine.

"The vaccine still offers significant protection for a number of the strains that are likely to be circulating," Anderson said. "I would encourage everyone to still get vaccinated."