Sep 23, 2009
US orders 29 million more doses of H1N1 spray vaccine
The US government has ordered another 29 million doses of nasal-spray pandemic H1N1 flu vaccine from MedImmune, the company announced this week. The government had previously ordered about 13 million doses. The government has now ordered a total of about 251 million doses of H1N1 vaccine from five firms. MedImmune said it has already made enough vaccine to fill its orders, and the Food and Drug Administration has released 3.4 million doses, which are expected to reach providers in early October.
http://pressroom.medimmune.com/press-releases/2009/09/21/medimmune-receives-u-s-government-order-for-additional-29-million-doses-of-nasal-spray-vaccine-for-2009-h1n1-influenza/
Sep 21 MedImmune news release
Quebec may delay or cancel seasonal flu shots
Quebec may delay or shelve its seasonal flu vaccination campaign and concentrate on vaccinating people against pandemic H1N1 instead, CBC News reported today. For now, seasonal flu shots are "on hold," said Karine White, a spokeswoman for the provincial health ministry. She said officials are considering delaying seasonal flu shots until after the pandemic vaccine is delivered, narrowing the effort to focus on those at highest risk, such as seniors, or even canceling the drive altogether.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/09/23/h1n1-flu-shots.html
Sep 23 CBC News story
Scientist: Russia underreporting pandemic flu cases
One of Russia's leading virologists claims that the country is underestimating its number of pandemic H1N1 cases, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Dr Dmitry Lvov made the claims in a state TV interview on Sep 21 and said Russia had also confirmed its first novel flu death. The country's health ministry has disputed both of Lvov's claims.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125366412674432421.html
Sep 23 Wall Street Journal article
Review suggests non-drug measures can curb flu
A meta-analysis of nonpharmaceutical interventions such as hand washing, masks, gloves, and gowns shows they can curb the spread of flu and should be pursued more vigorously, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reported yesterday. The review included 58 papers, which varied in quality. N-95 respirators were generally superior to surgical masks, but the N-95s caused skin irritation. The authors said more studies are needed to gauge the efficacy of individual interventions.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/339/sep21_1/b3675
Sep 22 BMJ report
Meta-analysis supports link between flu and heart attack
A meta-analysis of 39 studies supports the idea that influenza (including flu-like illness) increases the risk of myocardial infarction, according to a report by British researchers in Lancet Infectious Diseases. Many observational studies showed consistent links between flu and acute myocardial infarction. One small randomized trial showed that flu vaccination reduced the risk of cardiac death in people with cardiovascular disease, but another randomized trial was inconclusive.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(09)70233-6/abstract
Lancet Infectious Diseases article summary
