Influenza Vaccines

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it has approved the upcoming season's influenza vaccines, as four manufacturers announced they are starting to ship their first vaccine lots.

Today's approval announcement applies to six manufacturers that are making seasonal flu vaccines for the US market. This year's vaccine includes three strains:

Jul 29, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today endorsed its vaccine advisory group's recommendation for universal influenza immunization, as public health groups prepare to shift gears from pushing the pandemic H1N1 vaccine to drawing the public's attention to the new seasonal flu vaccine advice.

(CIDRAP News) – Over the next few months, the nation's healthcare providers will shift from giving the pandemic H1N1 vaccine to a seasonal flu vaccine that contains the new virus, which has federal officials grappling with how to transition from a massive vaccine monitoring effort to a likely more routine system for the seasonal version.

Jul 21, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – A study published yesterday raises the possibility of a new influenza vaccine platform that replaces the traditional hypodermic needle with a small skin patch studded with dozens of tiny needles that poke painlessly into the skin and dissolve, delivering the vaccine to the skin's specialized immune cells.

(CIDRAP News) – The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has formally asked federal health officials to recommend making influenza vaccination mandatory for healthcare workers (HCWs), saying this is probably the best way to protect patients from contracting flu in healthcare facilities.

As the world recovers its bearings after spikes in pandemic flu activity and anticipates how the upcoming flu season will unfold, antiviral and vaccine experts in Atlanta today plotted out the new prevention and treatment tools public health officials may someday use to fine-tune their disease responses.

Jul 7, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported some problems at a CSL Biotherapies facility in Australia that makes influenza vaccine for the US market, including a failure to fully investigate particles found in some vaccine vials.