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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Cambridge, MA, — Novartis Vaccines has started shipping seasonal influenza vaccine to U.S. healthcare facilities for the 2009-2010 season. The company delivered Fluvirin® influenza virus vaccine, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to the U.S. weeks ahead of schedule in anticipation of the increased demand for seasonal influenza vaccine created by the current global (A) H1N1 influenza pandemic.
“With the (A) H1N1 influenza pandemic underway, it is important that we take every possible precaution to help protect U.S. citizens from all circulating strains of influenza,” said Andrin Oswald, CEO of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. “By receiving the seasonal influenza vaccine early, physicians and public health officials can better prepare for the upcoming flu season.”
An estimated 36,000 people in the United States die each year from the flu and another 200,000 are hospitalized1. Early arrival of the seasonal influenza vaccine will also allow public health officials to begin administering vaccinations weeks ahead of their normal schedule, which is in accordance with guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)2. Federal health officials advise that the single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year, and that in general anyone who wants to reduce their chances of getting the flu can get vaccinated3.
Novartis Vaccines will provide the U.S. market with approximately 30 million doses of Fluvirin vaccine, indicated for patients 4 years and older. Fluvirin vaccine contains antigens to the three influenza virus strains for this year’s vaccine recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO):
A/Brisbane/59/2007, IVR-148 (H1N1)
A/Uruguay/716/2007, NYMC X-175C (H3N2) (an A/Brisbane/10/2007-like virus)
B/Brisbane/60/20084
“Novartis Vaccines committed early on that we would not let production of a pandemic vaccine get in the way of our ongoing commitment to provide seasonal influenza vaccine for the U.S. market,” Oswald said. “We have been able to meet that promise with the early delivery of Fluvirin to the U.S. Our next goal will be to bring an (A) H1N1 influenza vaccine for public health use as soon as possible.”
About seasonal influenza
Seasonal influenza is a highly communicable, acute viral infection that predominantly attacks the respiratory tract and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness and can lead to death5.
The number of people in the U.S. who die every year from the flu is similar to the more than 40,000 people in the U.S. estimated to die from breast cancer every year6 and about half of the estimated 70,000 people who die annually of diabetes and its complications7. During the 2007-2008 seasonal influenza season, 83 children were reported to have died of influenza-related causes8. Of the 63 whose vaccination status was known, 58 (92 percent) were not vaccinated according to recommendations9. Final numbers for the 2008-2009 flu season are not yet available.
Influenza vaccination is one of the most effective public health interventions ever implemented, sparing millions of people from complications of the infectious disease. Use of currently available seasonal flu vaccines has been calculated to save more than 8 million lives annually, translating to one person saved every five seconds10.
ACIP recommends seasonal influenza vaccinations as the principal method of preventing seasonal influenza. The vaccine is recommended for those at greatest risk for serious complications, including:
Children between 6 months and 18 years of age
Pregnant women
People 50 years of age and older
People of any age with certain chronic health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease
People in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities,
Household contacts of person at high risk for complications from influenza,
Household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age
Healthcare workers11
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