Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material (the Vaccine) to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by a pathogen. The material administrated can either be live, but weakened forms of pathogens such as bacteria or viruses, killed or inactivated forms of these pathogens, or purified material such as proteins.
State Public Health Director Announces Expansion of H1N1 Flu Vaccine Availability to all Illinoisans — High-risk individuals encouraged to be vaccinated before expansion next week. – Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Damon T. Arnold announced that beginning Tuesday, December_15, 2009, all Illinoisans will be eligible to receive an H1N1 flu vaccination.
Safety of pandemic vaccines — Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 briefing note 16. – WHO estimates that around 80 million doses of pandemic vaccine have been distributed and around 65 million people have been vaccinated. National immunization campaigns began in Australia and the People’s Republic of China in late September.
HIV vaccine failure probably caused by virus used, says new research – The recent failure of an HIV vaccine was probably caused by the immune system reacting to the virus ‘shell’ used to transmit the therapy around the body, revealed by researchers.
Shri Azad launches special polio vaccine drive on children?s day — Bi-valent OPV to be introduced soon to tackle rise in polio cases. – The Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the Indian Government will very soon introduce bi-valent oral polio vaccine to attack the type 1 and type 3 virus to deal with the fresh outbreak of type 3 virus.
The number of estimated new swine flu cases has fallen significantly in UK. – The number of estimated new swine flu cases has fallen significantly in the past week, the Health Protection Agency has announced. The consultation rate for flu-like illness in England from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) scheme decreased to 36.0 per 100,000 in week 45 compared to 37.7 in week 44.
FDA Expands Approved Use of H1N1 Vaccines to Include Infants and Children – US FDA has approved the use of the CSL Limited’s 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine to include children ages 6 months and older. This vaccine was previously approved only for use in adults, ages 18 years and older.
The Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia and the World Pneumonia Day coalition was established in April 2009. It seeks to bring focus on pneumonia as a public health issue and to prevent the millions of avoidable deaths from pneumonia that occur each year. – Nearly 100 leading global health organizations from around the world joined forces to recognize the first-annual World Pneumonia Day on November 2 and urge governments to take steps to fight pneumonia, the world’s leading killer of young children.
H1N1 flu vaccination begins for school children in US — shortfall in the supply of swine flu vaccine. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in the 2009 H1N1 press conference that H1N1 2009 vaccine levels are increasing but are still short of expected levels.
Experts advise WHO on pandemic vaccine policies and strategies — Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 briefing note – The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, which advises WHO on policies and strategies for vaccines and immunization, devoted a session of its 27?29 October meeting to pandemic influenza vaccines.
Novartis A(H1N1) Pandemic Influenza vaccine Focetria? receives positive opinion from CHMP – Novartis announced that Focetria, the Novartis Influenza A(H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine, has received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
Pregnant women need flu shots — it’s safe to get an influenza (flu) shot during pregnancy. – Pregnant women should be sure to get all their flu shots as soon as the vaccines become available this year to protect them against both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 (swine) flu.
Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2010 southern hemisphere influenza season. – Pandemic influenza A H1N1 viruses are becoming much more common than the current seasonal influenza. WHO health experts have recommended that vaccines for use in the 2010 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) contain the following:
