Content about Vaccines

LONDON — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new four-strain flu vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline, the drug maker said.

GSK announced the approval of its Fluarix Quadrivalent (influenza virus vaccine) for children and adults against seasonal influenza subtypes A and B. The company said the vaccine was the first for intramuscular injection that protects against four strains of the virus.

ALBANY — The New York Department of Health on Monday announced that reported cases of influenza are increasing throughout New York, and flu activity in the state is now considered to be widespread, with laboratory-confirmed cases in more than half the regions. 

Since New York began its annual seasonal flu surveillance this fall, influenza cases have been reported in 47 counties and the five boroughs of New York City. This is consistent with nationwide reporting that shows influenza activity is also increasing in many regions of the country. 

ATLANTA — The influenza season is officially underway as flu incidence is already above the national threshold, Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters during a teleconference Monday. "This is the earliest regular flu season we've had in nearly a decade, since the 2003-2004 flu season," he said. "That was an early and severe flu year, and while flu is always unpredictable, the early nature of the cases as well as the specific strains we're seeing suggest that this could be a bad flu year."

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is offering a $5 discount on flu vaccinations through the middle of this month, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

To mark National Influenza Vaccination Week, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started in 2005, which started Sunday and runs through Saturday, Rite Aid is administering flu vaccinations for $24.99 through Dec. 15. The original price was $29.99.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is using flu shots to support the USO in recognition of Veterans Day.

CVS/pharmacy said Wednesday that it would donate $3 to the USO during the week of the holiday, between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17, pledging a minimum donation of $50,000, and up to $100,000. The company said the idea was to remind Americans that a flu shot is the best way to protect against flu.

While there is still plenty of room for improvement, a growing number of patients have either already received or plan to receive a flu shot this year compared to one year ago. According to an online survey of more than 900 AccentHealth viewers conducted in September, 57% of patients have received or plan to receive a flu shot this year, versus 53% in 2011. 


To see more Patient Views, click here.

A growing number of patients have either already received or plan to receive a flu shot this year versus a year ago, and it should also be noted that more patients continue to embrace community pharmacy as a preferred destination for flu vaccinations. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement, according to the most recent Patient Views infographic. According to an exclusive survey of more than 900 patients conducted by AccentHealth and DSN in September, 57% of patients have received or plan to receive a flu shot this year, versus 53% in 2011.

NEW YORK CITY — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Health Commissioner Thomas Farley received their seasonal flu vaccination Thursday morning at a Duane Reade pharmacy in New York City, demonstrating the importance of taking proactive steps to prevent the spread of influenza.

SWIFTWATER, Pa. — Sanofi Pasteur announced Monday the presentation of three clinical trials of an experimental influenza vaccine.

ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has updated its recommendations for pneumococcal vaccine in high-risk adults.

ACIP now recommends the use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13; Prevnar 13) for high-risk adults ages 19 years or older. The committee recommends that PCV13 should be administered to eligible adults in addition to the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23; Pneumovax 23), the vaccine currently recommended for these groups of adults.

While much of the focus on pharmacist-administered vaccinations has been on influenza and shingles, there also have been efforts to significantly expand the number of diseases against which customers at the local pharmacy can get protection.


Flu vaccinations have received a lot of attention lately, and that’s no surprise, considering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that everyone ages 6 months and older get yearly vaccinations, not to mention the H1N1 pandemic flu scare.