Content about Vaccines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Winn-Dixie has expanded its flu shot options by offering the Fluzone Intradermal vaccination at its in-store pharmacies.

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued guidance regarding the use of injector devices to administer flu vaccines to patients.

The FDA said that healthcare professionals should not use such clinical devices to administer flu vaccines, adding that all vaccines, including influenza, "be administered in accordance with their labeling."

SWIFTWATER, Pa. — Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, released data from a new study examining the ability of its Fluzone High-Dose vaccine to provoke an immune response in elderly and younger adults, compared with a standard dose of Fluzone vaccine.

"The results further support the immunogenicity advantages of Fluzone High-Dose vaccine as compared to Fluzone vaccine, the standard dose comparator, in seniors 65 years of age and older," stated Peter Tsang, director clinical development, Sanofi Pasteur.

At the beginning of the year, a major global controversy was settled when it turned out that a study published in The Lancet in 1998 linking the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine to autism in children turned out to be a whopper of a fraud.


But despite the exposure of the study’s author — and outbreaks of preventable diseases among children in the United States and Europe, thanks to parents who opted to have their kids vaccinated — it appears that sowing fear of childhood vaccines still appears to have some currency.


SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Price Chopper is giving free flu vaccines to victims of Hurricane Irene, the supermarket chain said.

Price Chopper, which was the first supermarket pharmacy in New York to certify pharmacists to administer flu shots, is sponsoring free flu vaccination clinics at a local church in Schoharie, N.Y. The first clinic was on Saturday, and another will follow this coming Saturday. Participants also will receive free deli lunches. Other clinics will take place across the six states in which the chain operates, though the company did not give details.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius will receive her seasonal flu vaccine and will talk about the importance of prevention measures and flu season preparedness Wednesday morning at a Walgreens "health and daily living" pilot store in Chicago.

The secretary also will tour the store with Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson, who will highlight the store's ability to offer accessible, preventive health services, such as flu vaccinations and diabetes care in underserved communities.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid will sponsor a flu vaccination clinic at New York's Grand Central Terminal to help prevent flu and raise money for a charity for families affected by 9/11, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

The "Rite Aid Shield Yourself, New York" event will take place at Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall on Wednesday and Thursday, from the morning through the evening, with pharmacists on hand to administer shots.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Sanofi Pasteur on Wednesday launched an awareness campaign to inform Florida residents ages 65 years and older about the importance of influenza protection and the key role vaccination plays in helping to improve the body's immune response against the virus.

Adults 65 years of age and older typically are the hardest hit by influenza. This new program, called Influenza Immunization for You, urges older adults to talk to their healthcare provider about vaccine options. Florida Hospital Medical Group is spearheading the initiative in the region.

NEW YORK — Health experts have expressed fear that Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's comments about the human papillomavirus vaccine could set back progress in vaccinations, according to published reports.

The New York Times quoted experts as saying that vaccination rates often drop when public figures raise alarms about vaccines, including one who said it could set back efforts to vaccinate against human papillomavirus — a sexually transmitted infection that causes genital warts and several cancers in men and women — by three years.

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline is making a donation that it said would give more than 10,000 girls and women access to human papillomavirus vaccination.

GSK announced that it would donate $1 million worth of Cervarix (human papillomavirus bivalent [types 16 and 18] vaccine, recombinant) to the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Partnership over the next five years, as well as $50,000 to support the program operations. The partnership is an initiative led by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, UNAIDS, the President's Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief and the George W. Bush Institute.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The blockbuster movie release of "Contagion" this past weekend may drive more people to seek out their flu shot, proposed the director of the New Jersey Center for Public Health Preparedness. "Contagion," a movie that mirrors the H1N1 pandemic of 2009, was the No. 1 movie coming out of the weekend with an estimated $23.1 million debut.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Winn-Dixie Stores on Wednesday upped the ante in its pursuit of administering more flu shots this year — through Sept. 20 guests who use their Customer Reward Card when getting a seasonal flu vaccination will pay a $5-discounted rate of $24.99 for the shot and will receive five free bonus grocery items — fresh fruit, orange juice, hand sanitizer, wipes and tissues — valued at $12.71.

The flu shot promotion is part of Winn-Dixie's "What-A-Deal” program for flu season for the second consecutive year.