Content about Vaccine

PHILADELPHIA — GlaxoSmithKline has received regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a vaccine designed to prevent invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups C and Y and Haemophilus influenzae type B.

MenHibrix (Meningococcal Groups C and Y and Haemophilus b Tetanus Toxoid conjugate vaccine) is approved for use in children ages six weeks through 18 months. The vaccination schedule is a four-dose series given at two, four, six, and 12 through 15 months of age.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is expanding the range of vaccines that customers can get at its stores in West Virginia following rules recently enacted by state regulators, the retail pharmacy chain said Tuesday.

Under the new regulations adopted by the state pharmacy, medicine and osteopathy boards, pharmacists now can vaccinate adult patients against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, shingles, flu and pneumonia.

It’s been more than 200 years since the first successful test of a vaccine against smallpox, and since then, vaccines have become one of the most important means of preventing and eradicating infectious diseases, ranging from minor ailments like the flu to devastating ones like polio.


DEERFIELD, Ill. — With new Massachusetts state regulations allowing pharmacists to administer a broad range of immunizations, Walgreens has significantly expanded vaccine availability at all of its 165 locations across the state, and now is offering immunizations daily for 12 vaccines currently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the retail pharmacy operator announced Wednesday.
  

WASHINGTON — Drug makers in the United States are developing nearly 300 vaccines for preventing and treating diseases, according to a new report by a drug industry trade group.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — A reported "epidemic" of whooping cough in Washington has prompted at least one retail pharmacy chain to increase supplies of booster vaccines for the disease.

Rite Aid announced Tuesday that it had brought in extra doses of Tdap to its 140 stores in the state. The announcement follows a report from the state's Department of Health that there had been 640 cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, so far this year, a sevenfold increase compared with the same three-month period in 2011.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday released case studies presented last week before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2012 National Immunization Conference on how retail pharmacy can expand access to immunizations and help support disease-prevention initiatives.

The studies demonstrated the impact of three Walgreens initiatives aimed at increasing immunization rates: off-clinic hour vaccine administration, a pharmacist-led meningitis vaccination program and expansion of access to immunization services in underserved areas.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The news that MinuteClinic is urging parents and guardians to protect their children and themselves by getting the proper vaccination is important as it not only addresses a serious health concern, but also underscores the valuable role that retail-based health clinics can play in health care.

(THE NEWS: MinuteClinic urges vaccination as pertussis cases rise in 2012. For the full story, click here)

NEW YORK — Pharmacists in Florida are hoping to expand the kinds of vaccinations they can administer, according to published reports.

Tallahassee, Fla., CBS affiliate WTSP reported that a bill proposed in the state legislature would allow pharmacists to administer shots to prevent pneumonia and shingles. While pharmacists in Florida have been able to administer flu shots since 2007, the state remains one of the few where they can't administer pneumonia and shingles shots.

A committee in the state House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill, WTSP reported.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is responding to a flu vaccination campaign by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by lowering prices on flu vaccinations, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

To mark National Influenza Vaccination Week, the retailer is offering flu shots for $19.99 through Dec. 17.

LYNDHURST, N.J. — Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending that most people get flu shots, many members of the public remain skeptical, according to a new survey by Vitals.com.