Eileen Koutnik-Fotopoulos
Staff Writer

A new flu vaccination recommendation means that about 30 million more children will not be happy about getting a shot.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), voted to expand the recommended ages for the annual flu vaccination of children to include all children from 6 months to 18 years. Current pediatric recommendations call for flu vaccines for children ages 6 months to about 5 years. The ACIP said all children should begin getting vaccinated as soon as possible. The committee understands that many physicians may have already ordered their vaccine supply for the 2008-2009 season. If that is the case, the new recommendation should be implemented by the 2009-2010 flu season.

The expanded recommendation “should reduce the risk of influenza infections among children of all ages, and their consequent need for medical visits and missed time from school,” said Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

A study, reported at the committee’s meeting, of children aged 6 months to 23 months indicated that vaccine efficacy was about 75% in preventing flu hospitalizations among fully vaccinated children in this age group during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. The CDC usually follows the advice of the committee.

Meanwhile, the 2007-2008 flu season continues to get worse. As of press time, 49 states had reported widespread flu activity, and the number of pediatric deaths has climbed to 22, according to a CDC report. This year’s flu vaccine was supposed to protect against 2 strains from the Type A family of influenza (H1N1 and H3N2), and 1 from Type B. The CDC said that the vaccine’s Type B component has not been a good match for the B virus which is more prevalent this winter. Furthermore, 1 of the Type A components is poorly suited for the Type A H3N2/Brisbane-like strain that is now responsible for the largest portion of lab-confirmed cases.

In a highly unusual move, the World Health Organization recommended that next season’s flu vaccine have a totally different makeup from this year’s. FDA advisers backed the recommendation to overhaul the vaccine to protect against 3 new and different flu strains.

For other articles in this issue, see:

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USP <797> Finally Finalized for Sterile Compounding

Treating Dementia Patients with Antibiotics Questioned

FDA Clears Way for Educating About Off-label Therapies

Ohio Board Says Docs Still Muddle E-Rx's

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