H1N1 2009 Pandemic Influenza

May 28, 2009

May 27, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – Sanofi Pasteur announced today that it has received a novel H1N1 influenza vaccine virus from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), moving the company a step closer to starting production of a vaccine.

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said this afternoon that the agency is also sending the vaccine virus to other manufacturers, located overseas, who should receive the samples within a few days.

(CIDRAP News) –Two vaccine companies, Sanofi Pasteur and GlaxoSmithKline, recently announced they received their first orders from the US government for a vaccine and adjuvant to protect the country against the novel H1N1 virus.

(CIDRAP News) – In response to concerns from various governments about the possible effects of declaring a full-scale influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) will call on outside experts to consider whether to revise the agency's definitions of pandemic alert phases, a WHO official announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today unveiled the first comprehensive analysis of the novel H1N1 influenza virus, shedding some light on its source, which appears to be pigs in an area where surveillance gaps exist.

May 22, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Assembly ended today with no indication that the World Health Organization (WHO) would raise the pandemic alert level from 5 to 6, which sparked questions about why the group is holding back in the face of mounting global numbers of those infected with the novel H1N1 influenza virus.

(CIDRAP News) – In a search for factors that may give some patients a protective edge against novel H1N1 influenza, researchers said today that adults, especially those older than 60, appear to have some cross-antibody response but that seasonal influenza vaccines appear unlikely to offer any protection.

May 21, 2009