Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to make a record number of doses for next flu season despite concerns that demand may drop because this year’s vaccine was largely ineffective.

According to the Associated Press, the five companies that make flu vaccine for the U.S., market plan to make at least 143 million doses for the 2008-2009 season. They made 140 million doses for the current season—the worst in four years for adult deaths from flu and pneumonia.

Part of the problem was the vaccine didn’t work well against the viruses that ended up circulating.  Each year, health officials essentially make an educated guess and formulate a vaccine against three viruses, AP said.

Their guesses usually work well, but two of the three strains for the current season were not good matches, and the vaccine was only 44 percent effective overall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Reports on that data “probably doesn’t help us going into the flu season, when people are thinking “It didn’t really match so how can we rely that this vaccine’s OK?"” said Paul Perreault, executive vice president of CSL Biotherapies, one of the five manufacturers.

Still, according to AP, the company is tripling its production to 6 million doses, from 2 million. The company believes this fall’s vaccination drive should be successful, due in part to education campaigns and a complete makeover of the vaccine, Perreault said.

Besides CSL Biotherapies, three companies make flu shots for the United States. Sanofi Pasteur Inc. is planning to make 50 million doses for the coming flu season; Novartis Vaccines, 40 million; GlaxoSmithKline PLC, 35 million to 38 million.

In addition, MedImmune Vaccines Inc. plans to make about 12 million doses of FluMist. That’s a nasal mist containing live virus approved for healthy people between ages 2 and 49.

Manufacturers recently said they anticipate delivering much of their vaccines by the end of September, AP reported.