News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – As researchers continue to sort out safety issues surrounding the monovalent vaccine used during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, two new reports focusing mainly on an adjuvanted version suggest that immunization was safe for babies born to vaccinated pregnant women and that it was linked to a small but significant risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in some patients.

(CIDRAP News) – Obesity as a risk factor for severe illness and death was one of the clinical surprises that emerged early in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, and now California researchers have shown that extreme obesity is an independent risk factor for death from the disease.

(CIDRAP News) – A review of several after-action pandemic assessments released today shows that earlier investments in emergency preparedness were helpful, but serious gaps such as low flu vaccination rates in minority groups and continued erosion of public health infrastructure could undermine response to the next national health emergency.

(CIDRAP News) – Because of reports of increased fever and seizures in Australian and New Zealand children, the US government's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended today that a seasonal influenza vaccine made by CSL Ltd. should generally not be used in children from 6 months through 8 years old this fall and winter.