Fifth vaccine approved for upcoming flu season
Yesterday, the FDA approved FluLaval, a seasonal flu vaccine developed by ID Biomedical, a subsidiary of GSK. Here are the FDA press release and news items from Time and CIDRAP News.
FluLaval joins the four vaccines approved by the FDA in early August for the upcoming flu season, as we wrote about here. It's an injected vaccine (like three of the other four -- the exception being the nasally-administered FluMist) and is licensed for use in adults 18 and older. Among the five products, this year's supply is expected to set a record, with estimates of 115 doses being available in the U.S. Today's New York Times has a related story about the surge in flu vaccine supply.
The challenge for health care providers and public health officials will be to see that most or all of these doses are administered to patients, as the current record for vaccinations in a single flu season is 83 million, as we wrote last month. However, compared to the much-publicized shortages of years past, this is a far better 'problem' to face.
FluLaval joins the four vaccines approved by the FDA in early August for the upcoming flu season, as we wrote about here. It's an injected vaccine (like three of the other four -- the exception being the nasally-administered FluMist) and is licensed for use in adults 18 and older. Among the five products, this year's supply is expected to set a record, with estimates of 115 doses being available in the U.S. Today's New York Times has a related story about the surge in flu vaccine supply.
The challenge for health care providers and public health officials will be to see that most or all of these doses are administered to patients, as the current record for vaccinations in a single flu season is 83 million, as we wrote last month. However, compared to the much-publicized shortages of years past, this is a far better 'problem' to face.
Labels: FDA, GSK, Seasonal flu
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