H1N1 2009 Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – Interim clinical trial findings announced today affirm that children younger than 10 need two pandemic H1N1 vaccine doses, and initial findings in pregnant women reveal no safety concerns and a need for only one dose.

Federal officials also detailed the role of an independent panel of experts to review vaccine safety data and released a report outlining the government's vaccine safety monitoring system.

(CIDRAP News) – The H1N1 influenza virus is now widespread in all but two states and has claimed the lives of 114 children, 19 more than the toll a week ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in an update today.

"Essentially what we see is more virus, more vaccine, and more deaths," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said at a press briefing.

NY declaration expands vaccinator pool

(CIDRAP News) – An expert committee that advises the World Health Organization (WHO) today updated its guidance on pandemic H1N1 vaccines, recommending a single dose for most age-groups and advising that any of the forms are safe for pregnant women.

(CIDRAP News) – Ukranian officials today shuttered schools and banned public meeting for the next 3 weeks in the wake of a spike in pandemic flu and the country's first H1N1 deaths, which have sparked speculation that the disease has become worse in some patients or that another pathogen is circulating.

(CIDRAP News) – Though only available for emergency use, intravenous (IV) antivirals peramivir and zanamivir have been lifesaving for some pandemic H1N1 patients, including two dramatic cases that doctors presented yesterday during a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conference call for clinicians.

(CIDRAP News) – A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the true number of H1N1 influenza cases in the first 4 months of the epidemic may have been as high as 5.7 million, or more than 100 times the official case count.

Flu activity rebounds at many colleges

Oct 28, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – Some clinicians and public-heath workers are experiencing understandable confusion about the timing of doses for H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines, as well as other childhood vaccines, officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in a conference call for health professionals.