Secure Your 2008-2009 Influenza Vaccine Delivery Dates

Enjoy the benefits of MyFluVaccine’s secure delivery dates, via any order method – online, phone or fax – and without any prepayment! You can secure your influenza vaccine supply, schedule delivery on the dates you choose, and be confident that your vaccine will arrive when you need it.

Place your order in any of the following ways:

• Visit www.MyFluVaccine.com 24/7/365. If you do not have a MyFluVaccine account, you will need your DEA number to register to order online and your FFF customer number, if you have it.
• Call FFF’s Wow! Customer Care Team at 800-843-7477, between 5:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PACIFIC.
• Download a fax order form.
  
  

ACIP Provisional Recommendations for 2008-2009 Flu Season

On March 21, 2008, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) posted its Provisional Recommendations for the Prevention and Control of Influenza. The ACIP voted for these recommendations; however, the recommendations are under review by the Director of CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These recommendations will become official when published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) in June 2008.

New provisional recommendations for the prevention and control of influenza for the 2008-2009 influenza season include:

• Annual vaccination for all children aged 6 months–18 years is recommended. Annual vaccination of children aged 6 months–59 months should continue. If feasible, annual vaccination of all children aged 5 years–18 years should begin in 2008 when the vaccine for the 2008-2009 influenza season becomes available.
• Annual vaccination for all children aged 6 months–18 years should begin no later than during the 2009-2010 influenza season.
• The Vaccines for Children Fund resolution is effective July 1, 2008.
• Persons at higher risk of influenza complications because of underlying medical conditions, children aged 6 months–23 months, and persons aged >49 years should receive TIV. Either trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) or live, attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) should be used when vaccinating persons aged 2–49 years who do not have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza complications.
• Children aged 6 months–8 years should receive 2 doses of influenza vaccine (doses separated by >4 weeks) if they have not been vaccinated previously at any time with at least one dose of either LAIV or TIV.
• Clinicians and immunization program staff should screen for possible reactive airways diseases when considering use of LAIV for children aged 2–4 years, and should avoid use of this vaccine in children with asthma or a recent wheezing episode. The ACIP has previously provided recommendations on screening for possible reactive airways diseases in children aged 2–4 years.
• Recommendations for annual vaccination of persons in other age or risk groups were not changed, and can be found in Prevention and Control of Influenza: Recommendations of the ACIP, 2007.
• The 2008–2009 trivalent vaccine virus strains are A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like, A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like, and B/Florida/4/2006-like antigens. All three strains are different from the 2007-2008 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine.
• The antiviral medications recommended for chemoprophylaxis or treatment of influenza (oseltamivir or zanamivir) have not changed for the 2008-2009 influenza season and can be found here.
  
  

Read the full report.

CDC: Expanded Vaccination Recommendation for Children

A panel of immunization experts voted February 27, 2008 to expand the recommended ages for annual influenza vaccination of children to include all children from 6 months through 18 years of age. The previous recommendation was for vaccination of children from 6 months to 59 months of age. The expanded recommendation is to take effect as soon as feasible, but no later than the 2009-2010 influenza season. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC on vaccine issues, voted on the new recommendation during its February 27-28, 2008 meeting in Atlanta. The new recommendation increases the number of children recommended for vaccination by approximately 30 million.

Studies have shown that healthy children bear a significant burden from influenza disease and are at increased risk of needing influenza-related medical care. In addition, there is evidence showing that reducing influenza transmission among children has the potential to reduce influenza among their household contacts and within the community. Read more here.

Three New Influenza Virus Strains for
2008-09 Could Create Supply Challenges

When the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended recently that influenza vaccines for the 2008-2009 season should be manufactured for three new strains of the virus, concerns quietly arose about the effects of this unusual recommendation on the vaccine supply. Typically, only one or two of three strains are replaced each year.

When the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research concurred with the WHO recommendations, the concerns grew louder. Industry experts indicate that the three new strains – including Brisbane/10, a version of the H3N2 flu; a second new Type A strain known as H1N1/Brisbane/59, and a newer Type B/Florida strain – could possibly result in reduced supply and delayed product releases.

“Flu vaccine manufacturers must now shift gears and address three new strains, instead of the typical one or two new ones,” explained Chris Ground, FFF’s senior vice president of national accounts. “And, apparently, manufacturers in the Southern Hemisphere have found the Brisbane/10 strain difficult to grow. Given that, and the eight-month production cycle, there is some concern the marketplace may not see product until later in the season and the production yield could also be affected.”

Although manufacturers are currently projecting normal yields, several news sources quoted Tony Colegate of Novartis Vaccines, when addressing the Vaccines and Related Biologicals Advisory Committee, “We have things in the pipeline, but we are not in a situation we'd like to be this time of year with working seeds ready to go. We think this will be a very, very difficult year."

In response to these supply concerns, FFF recommends that customers split their orders among multiple manufacturers and split the total doses needed across several delivery dates throughout the vaccination season. This will help assure a reliable supply if one manufacturer does have a problem.

Tamiflu Available for Seasonal Flu Treatment, Post-Exposure and Pandemic Preparedness

Place your Tamiflu® order with FFF's Wow! Customer Care Team at 800-843-7477 or download an order form.