FluMist Quadrivalent, a vaccine to prevent seasonal influenza in people ages 2 years through 49 years, has been approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FluMist Quadrivalent is the first influenza vaccine to contain four strains of the influenza virus, two influenza A strains and two influenza B strains.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Recommends Vaccine Composition for the 2011-2012 Northern Hemisphere Influenza Season

The first U.S. facility to use a faster and more flexible technology to make influenza vaccine was dedicated today, as part of an initiative that could provide vaccine supplies sooner in an influenza pandemic. The plant in Holly Springs, N.C., can create vaccine using cultured animal cells instead of the conventional process of using fertilized eggs.

CDC has confirmed two cases of human infection with two different novel influenza A viruses in different states. Both patients have fully recovered.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is recommending that health care professionals use a sterile needle and syringe to administer inactivated influenza vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the initial “FluView” report for the U.S. 2011–2012 flu season with the message that flu activity is currently low, making this the perfect time to get vaccinated. There should be lots of vaccine available, because the supply is projected to set a U.S. record.

The immune response to an H5N1 avian influenza vaccine was greatly enhanced in healthy adults if they were first primed with a DNA vaccine expressing a gene for a key H5N1 protein, researchers say. Their report describes results from two clinical studies conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Kimberly-Clark Pediatric/Child Face Mask, designed to be worn in hospitals and health care facilities to help reduce the spread of airborne respiratory tract bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.

Examination of lung tissue and other autopsy material from 68 American soldiers who died of respiratory infections in 1918 has revealed that the influenza virus that eventually killed 50 million people worldwide was circulating in the United States at least four months before the 1918 influenza reached pandemic levels that fall.

Although children and teenagers rarely die from flu–related causes, many of the deaths could have been prevented if the children had been vaccinated against the flu, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine formulation for all six manufacturers licensed to produce and distribute influenza vaccine for the United States.

After a week of negotiations continued through Friday night and into Saturday morning, an open-ended working-group meeting of Member States successfully agreed upon a framework to ensure that in a pandemic, influenza virus samples will be shared with partners who need the information to take steps to protect public health.

A contract has been awarded to develop a long-acting single-dose antiviral drug for use in the United States, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced today.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled an innovative new website to help parents and other consumers learn about the most effective way to protect themselves and their children from infectious diseases and learn about immunization.