Tripler Army Medical Center has donated surplus flu vaccine to five Pacific governments, including American Samoa and Guam.

The hospital donated 17,500 doses of seasonal influenza vaccine that would otherwise have been discarded to American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Marshall Islands.

Hawaiian Airlines and Continental Micronesia Airlines flew the vaccine in partnership with the Army.

"The program fosters good relations with these countries and gives us an outlet to use these vaccines instead of just discarding them. It benefits not only us but the countries receiving them," said Capt. Daniel O'Neil, Tripler logistics medical officer.

The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency and the Military Vaccine Agency helped coordinate and ship the surplus vaccines from military treatment facilities nationwide to Tripler, where the project was managed by Tripler's logistics division and preventive medicine department.

The program began in 2007, when Joint Task Force-Homeland Defense at Fort Shafter recognized the need in these islands for influenza vaccine and the availability of Department of Defense excess influenza vaccine. In a trial run, 7,800 doses of DoD excess influenza vaccine on O'ahu were collected and shipped to the Northern Mariana Islands. Surplus vaccine was also donated last year.