CDC - Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Final Season Vaccination Estimates: United States, 2009-10 Influenza Season

Image via WikipediaBecause the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus [2009 influenza A (H1N1)] was identified in April 2009, two separate influenza vaccines were distributed in the United States in 2009–2010: a seasonal vaccine and an influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine (2009 H1N1 vaccine) [1, 2].

The final estimates in this report include vaccinations reported through May 2010 based on interviews through June 2010.

Key Finding:

Nationally, seasonal influenza vaccination coverage was highest among adults aged ≥65 years [69.6% (95% CI 69.0–70.2%)]. Among adults aged 50–64 years, national seasonal influenza vaccination coverage was 45.0% (95% CI 44.4–45.6%).

Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Coverage

• National 2009–10 seasonal influenza vaccination coverage among all persons aged ≥6 months in the United States was 41.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 40.8–41.6%).(Table 1)
• Among children aged 6 months –17 years, national seasonal influenza vaccination coverage [43.7% (95% CI 42.8–44.6)] was higher than coverage for adults ≥18 years [40.4% (95% CI 40.0–40.8%)].
• For adults aged 18–49 years, national seasonal influenza vaccination coverage was higher for persons with high–risk conditions [38.2% (95% CI 36.9–39.5%)] compared to those without high–risk conditions [28.4% (95% CI 27.8–29.0%)].
• Nationally, seasonal influenza vaccination coverage was highest among adults aged ≥65 years [69.6% (95% CI 69.0–70.2%)]. Among adults aged 50–64 years, national seasonal influenza vaccination coverage was 45.0% (95% CI 44.4–45.6%).
• For children aged 6 months –17 years, healthy adults aged 18–49 years, adults aged 18–49 years with high–risk conditions and adults aged ≥65 years, 2009–10 final estimates were higher than estimates for the same groups in the 2008–09 season [2008–09 estimates: 30.2% (95% CI 28.4–32.0%), 19.5% (95% CI 18.2–20.8%), 33.0% (95% CI 29.8–36.5%) and 65.6% (95% CI 63.3–67.8%) respectively; CDC, unpublished data, 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)].
• One or more seasonal influenza vaccine doses were administered to 31.6 million (95% CI 30.9–32.3 million) children and 91.6 million (95% CI 90.7–92.5 million) adults, for an estimated 123.3 million (95% CI 122.1–124.5 million) seasonal influenza vaccinees during August 2009 through May 2010.

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FDA Approves Prostate Cancer Vaccine from MedPage Today

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By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today





 The FDA approved the immunotherapeutic agent sipuleucel-T (Provenge) for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, almost three years after the agency rejected an advisory group's recommendation in favor of the drug.

The approval makes the agent available for treatment of men with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic prostate cancer.

"The availability of Provenge provides a new treatment option for men with advanced prostate cancer, who currently have limited effective therapies available," Karen Midthun, MD, acting director of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

Often described as a vaccine, sipuleucel-T is an autologous cellular immunotherapy designed to stimulate a patient's immune system to mount a response against prostate cancer.
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New Report Finds Low Adult Vaccination Rates For Pneumonia In U.S.

from Medical News Today

A new report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives, released by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that more than 30 percent of adults ages 65 and older had not been immunized against pneumonia in 36 states as of 2008. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other experts recommend that all seniors should be vaccinated against pneumonia, which is a one-time shot for most individuals, since seniors who get the seasonal flu are at risk for developing pneumonia as a complication.
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Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule by Age

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommended adult immunization schedule---United States, 2010. MMWR 2010;59(1)

Additional Information

Stem Cell Research Offers Hope for Colon Cancer Vaccine - Forbes.com

(HealthDay News) -- Human stem cells may provide a means of creating a vaccine against colon cancer and other types of cancers, say American and Chinese scientists.
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Meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee

The meeting will be held on September 16, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on September 17, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Topics to be discussed at the meeting include vaccine financing, vaccine stockpile, seasonal influenza and related issues, vaccine safety, vaccine development, and the National Vaccine Plan. Updates will be given by each of the working groups. An agenda will be posted on the NVAC Web site: http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/nvac prior to September 1, 2008. Public attendance at the meeting is limited to space available.

FDA Approves 2008-2009 Flu Vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it has approved this year's seasonal influenza vaccines that include new strains of the virus likely to cause flu in the United States during the 2008-2009 season. This season's vaccines contain three strains of the influenza virus that disease experts expect to be the most likely cause of the flu in the United States. Each season's vaccines are modified to reflect the virus strains most likely to be circulating. The closer the match between the circulating strains and the strains in the vaccines, the better the protection. The FDA changed all three strains for this year's influenza vaccine—an unusual occurrence, as usually only one or two strains are updated from year to year. A list of the strains included in the 2008-2009 vaccine can be found at http://www.fda.gov/cber/flu/flu2008.htm. Of note, two of the three strains recommended for the U.S. this year are now in use for the Southern Hemisphere's 2008 influenza season, which is currently underway. Vaccination remains the cornerstone of preventing influenza, a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. According to the CDC, every year an average of 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu, more than 200,000 are hospitalized from flu complications and there are about 36,000 flu-related deaths. Some individuals—the elderly, young children, and people with chronic medical conditions —are at higher risk for flu-related complications. Vaccination of these groups and of health care personnel is critical.

Influenza vaccination and risk of community-acquired pneumonia

Lancet Volume 372, Issue 9636, 2 August 2008-8 August 2008, Pages 398-405 Pneumonia is a common complication of influenza infection in elderly individuals and could therefore potentially be prevented by influenza vaccination. In studies with data from administrative sources, vaccinated elderly people had a reduced risk of admission for pneumonia compared with unvaccinated seniors; however, these findings could have been biased by underlying differences in health between the groups. Furthermore, since most individuals with pneumonia are not treated in hospital, such studies should include both outpatient and inpatient events. We therefore assessed whether influenza vaccination is associated with a reduced risk of community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent elderly people after controlling for health status indicators.

Findings 1173 cases and 2346 controls were included in the study. After we adjusted for the presence and severity of comorbidities, as defined by chart review, influenza vaccination was not associated with a reduced risk of community-acquired pneumonia (odds ratio 0·92, 95% CI 0·77–1·10) during the influenza season.

Interpretation The effect of influenza vaccination on the risk of pneumonia in elderly people during influenza seasons might be less than previously estimated.