Content about Vaccination

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway pharmacies in California are responding to the state's whooping cough (pertussis) emergency and now are offering Adacel, a booster vaccine for people ages 11 through 64 years, the grocer announced Wednesday.

The Adacel vaccine is available at all Safeway, Vons and Pavilions pharmacies on a walk-in basis, the company stated.

DEERFIELD, Ill. Underscoring its determination to be the nation’s premier source of flu immunization services, Walgreens on Thursday revealed it is working with the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases to educate the public and health professionals about flu prevention resources. In addition, Walgreens has joined with Families Fighting Flu, a nonprofit organization of families and healthcare practitioners, to heighten flu awareness and encourage vaccinations for children and families.

HOUSTON The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now is recommending that everybody older than 6 months of age get vaccinated for the flu, as the flu has begun appearing in various states and last year’s H1N1 flu is expected to appear again.

In response, RediClinic is offering two options for vaccination: the traditional injectable vaccine and a nasal spray version.

WASHINGTON Emergent BioSolutions has landed a $51 million contract from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to develop a new anthrax vaccine.

In the first two years of the contract, Emergent will develop the final vaccine formulation and test its stability. HHS said it can extend the contract annually for up to three years to support scale-up and optimization for large-scale manufacturing, as well as additional animal studies needed to apply for Food and Drug Administration approval of the vaccine.

SWIFTWATER, Pa. The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a regulatory approval application for a flu vaccine administered in the skin.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines arm of French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, announced Monday that the FDA had accepted its application for Fluzone Intradermal (influenza virus vaccine). The company expects the FDA to take action on the vaccine in the first half of next year.

ATLANTA A recent survey out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that adolescent vaccination at the national, state and selected local area levels are all on the rise.

Continued increases — as much as 15% — were made in nationwide coverage for vaccines specifically recommended for pre-teens, according to 2009 National Immunization Survey-Teen estimates released Thursday by the CDC.

NEW YORK The global market for vaccines grew to more than $20 billion last year, according to a report by healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information.

The New York-based firm’s report, “Vaccines 2010: World Market Analysis, Key Players and Critical Trends in a Fast-Changing Industry,” indicated that the world market for preventative vaccines was $22.1 billion in 2009, compared with $19 billion in 2008.