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Influenza Prophylaxis Blog

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Doctor Explains Why Flu a Greater Threat to Seniors

Posted 17 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Jan. 17 – The nasty flu season in the United States this year poses a particular risk for people aged 65 and older, an expert warns. People's immune systems weaken as they age, explained Dr. Andrew Duxbury, an associate professor in the gerontology, geriatrics and palliative care division at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. "When older people get the flu and get knocked down further, they are more likely to get other infections, such as pneumonia," Duxbury said in a university news release. "Just being knocked into bed for as little as three or four days can, in a very frail older person, make it so they lose the ability to walk and do for themselves. It can cause a spiral in disabilities and increase chances of falls and injuries." Prevention is the best defense. Seniors and their caregivers should get a flu shot, wash hands regularly and avoid ... Read more

Related support groups: Influenza, Influenza Prophylaxis

Flublock Approved to Prevent Seasonal Flu

Posted 17 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Jan. 17 – Flublock, a new vaccine that uses recombinant DNA technology to prevent the flu, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people aged 18 to 49. Flublock doesn't use traditional flu vaccine components – including the influenza virus or eggs – in its production. Instead, it uses an insect virus (baculovirus) to produce large amounts of the influenza virus protein, hemagglutinin (HA). Most antibodies that prevent flu infection are directed against HA, the FDA explained in a news release. "This approval represents a technological advance in the manufacturing of an influenza vaccine," Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the news release. "The new technology offers the potential for faster start-up of the vaccine manufacturing process in the event of a pandemic, because it is not dependent ... Read more

Related support groups: Influenza Prophylaxis

FDA Approves Flublok - a New Type of Flu Vaccine

Posted 17 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a novel type of flu vaccine, the agency announced Wednesday. Flublok, as the vaccine is called, does not use the traditional method of the influenza virus or eggs in its production. Instead, it is made using an "insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology," the FDA said in a news release. This will allow vaccine maker Protein Sciences Corp., of Meriden, Conn., to produce Flublok in large quantities, the agency added. The vaccine is approved for use in those aged 18 to 49. "This approval represents a technological advance in the manufacturing of an influenza vaccine," said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "The new technology offers the potential for faster start-up of the vaccine manufacturing process in the event of a pandemic, ... Read more

Related support groups: Influenza Prophylaxis

FDA Approves Flublok - New Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Made Using Novel Technology

Posted 16 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

January 16, 2013 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved Flublok, the first trivalent influenza vaccine made using an insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology. Flublok is approved for the prevention of seasonal influenza in people 18 through 49 years of age. Unlike current flu vaccines, Flublok does not use the influenza virus or eggs in its production. Flublok’s novel manufacturing technology allows for production of large quantities of the influenza virus protein, hemagglutinin (HA) – the active ingredient in all inactivated influenza vaccines that is essential for entry of the virus into cells in the body. The majority of antibodies that prevent influenza virus infection are directed against HA. While the technology is new to flu vaccine production, it is used to make vaccines that have been approved by the FDA ... Read more

Fetal Deaths Up Among Unvaccinated Moms in H1N1 Pandemic: Study

Posted 16 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 – Pregnant women were urged to get a flu shot during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, and new evidence supports that advice. Norwegian researchers have found that vaccination in pregnancy was safe for mother and child, and that fetal deaths were more common among unvaccinated moms-to-be. Influenza is a serious threat to a pregnant woman and her unborn child, said Dr. Camilla Stoltenberg, director general of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, lead researcher of the new study. "Our study indicates that influenza during pregnancy was a risk factor for stillbirth during the pandemic in 2009," she said. "We find no indication that pandemic vaccination in the second or third trimester increased the risk of stillbirth." With this year's flu pummeling many people across the United States, experts say the best way a pregnant woman can protect her unborn baby from flu ... Read more

Childhood Vaccine Schedule Is Safe, Report Says

Posted 16 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 – The standard vaccine schedule for young children in the United States is safe and effective, a new review says. The report, issued Wednesday by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the request of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the first to look at the entire vaccine schedule as opposed to just individual vaccines. The current vaccine schedule entails 24 vaccines given before the age of 2, averaging one to five shots during a single doctor visit. "The committee found no evidence that the childhood immunization schedule is not safe," said Ada Sue Hinshaw, chair of the committee that produced the report and dean of the Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. "The evidence repeatedly points to the health benefits of the schedule, including preventing children and their communities from ... Read more

'Spot' Shortages of Flu Vaccine, Tamiflu Reported, FDA Head Says

Posted 15 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 15 – Sporadic shortages of both the flu vaccine and the flu treatment Tamiflu are being reported, as this year's intense flu season continues, according to a top U.S. health official. "We have received reports that some consumers have found spot shortages of the vaccine," Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Monday on her blog on the agency's website. Hamburg said that the agency is "monitoring this situation and will update you at our website and at www.flu.gov." So far, more than 128 million doses of flu vaccine have been distributed, Hamburg said, but not all the doses have been administered to people yet. She said that people who already have the flu may also be experiencing local shortages of Tamiflu, a drug that can help treat influenza. "We do anticipate intermittent, temporary shortages of the oral suspension form of ... Read more

Study Finds Low Flu Vaccine Rates in U.S. Kids

Posted 15 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 15 – Flu vaccination rates among U.S. children were lower than expected over a recent five-year period, a new study reports. The findings were released in the midst of the current flu season, with 47 states now reporting widespread illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials recommend that all children 6 months and older get the flu vaccine. For the new study, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers reviewed data on more than 8,000 children younger than 5 in three counties in Ohio, New York and Tennessee between 2004 and 2009, and found that less than 45 percent of them received a flu shot. "Our research showed that one in six children under age 5 who went to an emergency department or clinic with fever and respiratory symptoms during the peak flu seasons had the flu," study author Dr. Katherine Poehling, an associate ... Read more

Safe Ways to Relieve Your Young Child's Flu Symptoms

Posted 11 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Jan. 11 – Flu season is especially bad in the United States this year, and young children with the flu tend to suffer more than others because they can't take over-the-counter medications to help relieve their symptoms. Cough and cold medications can have serious side effects if taken by young children, including rapid heart rate and convulsions. "These medications should never be used by children under the age of 4 and only under a physician's supervision if under the age of 6," Dr. Bridget Boyd, a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, said in a university news release. Unable to use medications, parents may feel helpless. But there are ways they can safely relieve their children's flu symptoms, Boyd said. Children 3 months to 12 months old should be given warm, clear fluids such as water, apple juice and an ... Read more

Related support groups: Influenza, Influenza A, Influenza Prophylaxis

Research Reveals Why Flu Peaks in Certain Seasons

Posted 28 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Dec. 27 – Ever wonder why the flu is seasonal? According to new research, widespread transmission of the virus has to do with humidity levels. The research was published in a recent issue of the journal PLoS One. In temperate regions, such as North America and Europe, flu peaks during the winter season, when humidity is low. But in some tropical regions, influenza thrives during the rainy season, noted the researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg. After measuring the influenza A virus survival rate at different humidity levels, the researchers concluded that flu is more common in winter months because the virus's viability in mucus increases when the relative humidity is below 50 percent. The virus, however, also thrives when the humidity is close to 100 percent, they found. "We added flu viruses to droplets of simulated respiratory ... Read more

Related support groups: Influenza, Influenza A, Influenza Prophylaxis

FDA Expands Tamiflu's Use to Treat Children Younger Than One Year

Posted 21 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

December 21, 2012 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) to treat children as young as 2 weeks old who have shown symptoms of flu for no longer than two days. The drug is not approved to prevent flu infection in this population. In addition, the safety and efficacy of Tamiflu to treat flu infection has not been established in children younger than 2 weeks old. Tamiflu was approved in 1999 to treat adults infected with flu who have shown symptoms for no longer than two days. It has since been approved to treat flu in children ages 1 year and older who have shown symptoms of flu for no longer than two days, and to prevent flu in adults and children ages 1 year and older. Although there is a fixed dosing regimen for patients 1 year and older according to weight categories, the dosing for children younger than 1 year must be ... Read more

FDA Approves GlaxoSmithKline's Fluarix Quadrivalent - Four-strain Seasonal Influenza Vaccine for Use in the U.S.

Posted 20 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

LONDON, Dec. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GlaxoSmithKline plc [LSE/NYSE: GSK] announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FLUARIX® QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Virus Vaccine) for the immunisation of children (three years and older) and adults to help prevent disease caused by seasonal influenza (flu) virus subtypes A and type B contained in the vaccine. Fluarix Quadrivalent is the first intramuscular vaccine to cover against four influenza strains. Scientists classify the influenza strains that cause seasonal flu as A or B strains. Currently administered trivalent (three-strain) flu vaccines help protect against the two A virus strains most common in humans and the B strain expected to be predominant in a given year. But since the year 2000, two B virus strains (Victoria and Yamagata) have co-circulated to varying degrees each season. Various degrees of mi ... Read more

College Kids Not So Smart About Flu Shots, Study Finds

Posted 10 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Dec. 10 – Only one in five college students at eight North Carolina universities reported getting a flu shot during the 2009-2010 flu season, according to a new study. The findings show the need for colleges and universities to develop new strategies to vaccinate students, such as giving flu shots at sporting events or during campus-wide, day-long campaigns, the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers said. Their Internet survey of more than 4,000 college students in late October and November 2009 revealed that rates of seasonal flu vaccination ranged from 14 percent to 30 percent at the eight universities. That's far below the U.S. government's 2020 Healthy People goal of 80 percent coverage for healthy people ages 18 to 64. Students were more likely to say that they'd received the seasonal flu vaccine from a private doctor or clinic, rather than from student health ... Read more

FDA Approves Flucelvax - First Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Manufactured Using Cell Culture Technology

Posted 21 Nov 2012 by Drugs.com

November 20, 2012 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today the approval of Flucelvax, the first seasonal influenza vaccine licensed in the United States produced using cultured animal cells, instead of fertilized chicken eggs. Flucelvax is approved to prevent seasonal influenza in people ages 18 years and older. The manufacturing process for Flucelvax is similar to the egg-based production method, but a significant difference is that the virus strains included in the vaccine are grown in animal cells of mammalian origin instead of in eggs. Cell culture technology has already been in use for several decades to produce other U.S. licensed vaccines. “Today’s approval represents the culmination of efforts to develop a seasonal influenza vaccine using cell culture as an alternative to the egg-based process,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics ... Read more

Related support groups: Influenza, Influenza Prophylaxis

Just-Approved Flu Vaccine Uses Newer Production Method

Posted 21 Nov 2012 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 21 – Flucelvax is the first seasonal flu vaccine to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration using a manufacturing method called cell culture technology, the agency said. Other flu vaccines are produced inside eggs. But that process takes longer than the newer method and could be harmful to people with egg allergies, the FDA explained. In cell culture technology, virus strains are grown inside mammalian animal cells. This technology has been used for decades to produce other vaccines, the agency said, and since it is quicker, it can be used more efficiently to develop flu vaccines rapidly in the event of a pandemic. Flucelvax was evaluated in clinical studies in the United States and Europe involving some 7,700 people ages 18 to 49. Common side effects included pain, redness, injection-site soreness, headache and fatigue – reactions typically seen in people ... Read more

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