Ny Officials Rescind Mandatory H1n1 Flu Shot Order
New York will be getting only about 23 percent of its anticipated supply of the vaccine for the swine flu virus - also called H1N1 - by the end of the month, and that should be reserved for those most at risk for serious illness and death, according to Gov. David Patersons office.
“New evidence is showing that H1N1 can be especially virulent to pregnant women and young people - so they should get vaccinated first,” said Dr. Richard Daines, the state health commissioner.
Workers had protested Daines earlier order that health care workers receive the vaccine, arguing it was unfair to [...]
Production Of Swine Flu Vaccine Is Way Behind
As nervous Americans clamor for the vaccine, production is running several weeks behind schedule, and health officials blame the pressure on pharmaceutical companies to crank it out along with the ordinary flu vaccine, and a slow and antiquated process that relies on millions of chicken eggs.
There have been other bottlenecks, too: Factories that put the precious liquid into syringes have become backed up. And the government itself ran into a delay in developing the tests required to assess each batch before it is cleared for use.
What effect the delays will have on the course of the outbreak is unclear, in [...]
Panel Backs Vaccine as Cervical Cancer Alternative
The panel gave a limited endorsement to GlaxoSmithKlines vaccine, Cervarix, which the government licensed last week. Merck & Co. has had the vaccine Gardasil on the market since 2006.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices did not state a preference for one vaccine over the other. But officials noted that while both protect against cervical cancer, the older Merck vaccine also protects against genital warts.
The committee advises a federal public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC still has to adopt the new recommendation for it to become official advice for U.S. physicians.
Both shots are a three-dose [...]
Full Results Show Aids Vaccine Is Of Modest Help
Yet the findings are exciting to scientists, who think that blood samples from the trial may show how to make a vaccine that does a better job.
The results also hint that the vaccine may work better in the general population than in those at higher risk of infection, such as gay men and intravenous drug users. It was the first time an AIDS vaccine was tested mostly in heterosexuals at average risk, and doctors have long known that how a person is exposed to HIV affects the odds of becoming infected.
“This study becomes a landmark. You can put it on [...]
Giving Babies Tylenol May Blunt Vaccines Effects
It is the first major study to tie reduced immunity to the use of fever-lowering medicines. Although the effect was small and the vast majority of kids still got enough protection from vaccines, the results make “a compelling case” against routinely giving Tylenol right after vaccination, say doctors from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They wrote an editorial accompanying the study, published in Fridays issue of the British medical journal, Lancet.
The study only looked at preventive use of Tylenol - not whether it is OK to use after a fever develops.
Tylenol or its generic twin, acetaminophen, is widely [...]
Seasonal Vaccine Shortage In U.s. Stoked By Swine Flu Vigilance
The two influenza strains, which carry similar symptoms and outcomes, may circulate concurrently in the U.S. for the first time beginning this month, normally the official start of the flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. They require separate vaccinations that can be given at the same time, government health officials said on Oct. 9.
About 77 million doses of seasonal vaccine have already shipped in the U.S., more than ever before at this time of year, the CDC said. Still, doctors are reporting [...]
Health Workers Sue to Void Fda Approval Of Swine Flu Vaccine
Rima Laibow, a physician, nurse Suzanne Field and four other New York residents filed the suit in federal court in Washington today. They claim a state law requires them to get the vaccine, putting their health at risk from an unproven treatment and their livelihoods at risk if they refuse.
“This is an emergency action in a matter of significant public importance,” Leslie Fourton, an attorney for the health workers, said in the lawsuit. The Food and Drug Administration “has approved or licensed the vaccines without definitive [...]
Cvs, Walgreen Have Spot Flu-vaccine Shortages as Demand Leaps
CVS MinuteClinics in Austin, Texas, and New York ran out of the seasonal-flu vaccine within the past week before restocking, according to calls to 13 stores by Bloomberg News. Calls to eight Walgreen stores in Manhattan on Oct. 5 determined none had it at the time. There are also shortages in the South and Southeast, said James Cohn, a Walgreen spokesman.
Demand for seasonal-flu vaccinations has soared because of public awareness of the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu, Cohn said. Walgreen administered twice as many doses [...]
Latex Allergy Linked to Adverse Reaction to Swine Flu Shot
While the short-term reaction occurred at the time of vaccination, the cause hasnt been determined, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said in a statement on its Web site yesterday. The nations drug regulator is investigating the case, the doctors group said.
The pandemic H1N1 2009Â influenza vaccine and vial are latex-free, while 1-milliliter syringes in immunization packs contain the rubber material, according to the statement. Latex- free syringes are recommended for patients with a latex allergy, though there isnt a proven association, the college said. [...]
Sebelius: Americans Should Get Flu Vaccination
Sebelius unconditionally vouched for the safety of the vaccine, saying it “has been made exactly the same way seasonal vaccine has been made, year in and year out.”
Appearing on morning news shows to step up the Obama administrations campaign for vaccinations, Sebelius said that “the adverse effects are minimal. … We know its safe and secure. … This is definitely is a safe vaccine for people to get.”
Sebelius was asked on CNN about surveys showing many parents were wary of getting their children vaccinated for fear the vaccine has been too hastily prepared and wasnt safe. [...]