Northern Hemisphere Seasonal Influenza Virus Vaccine for 2009-2010 Available

28 July 2009

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that it has shipped the first doses of the 2009-2010 formulation of Fluzone((R)), Influenza Virus Vaccine. Fluzone vaccine is indicated for active immunization in people 6 months of age and older against influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B contained in the seasonal influenza vaccine. Fluzone vaccine is the only vaccine licensed in the United States for children as young as 6 months of age through adults.

Sanofi Pasteur, the only U.S. manufacturer of inactivated influenza vaccine, is committed to supporting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendation for annual immunization against seasonal influenza. The company has begun shipment of its Fluzone vaccine to health-care providers to assist them in their early seasonal influenza immunization efforts. In total, Sanofi Pasteur expects to supply over 50 million doses of Fluzone vaccine to the U.S. for the 2009-2010 season.

The CDC recommends that health-care providers begin their immunization efforts for seasonal influenza as soon as vaccine is available and continue their immunization efforts throughout the entire influenza season. Immunization for seasonal influenza remains a public health priority. On average each year, one out of five Americans suffers from seasonal influenza, approximately 226,000 are hospitalized and 36,000 die from influenza-related complications.

Although seasonal influenza cases typically peak in February, seasonal influenza can occur at any time from early fall to late spring. The influenza vaccine offers protection for the full season, so there is no need to delay immunization once vaccine is available. However, those who missed an immunization opportunity early in the season are urged to seek immunization throughout the influenza season because immunization is beneficial in disease prevention as long as influenza is circulating in the community.

The vaccine formulation for the 2009-2010 season contains three strains of the influenza virus: the A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like virus; the A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like virus; and the B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus. The three strains for the new influenza vaccine formulation were confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee in February 2009 and correspond with recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) also in February. Influenza vaccine is formulated each year to match the strains predicted to circulate during the upcoming season. This formulation for the 2009-2010 influenza season introduces a new B strain. The two A strains are unchanged from the 2008-2009 season formulation.

The seasonal influenza vaccine does not incorporate the A/California/7/2009(H1N1) virus strain of the novel A(H1N1) influenza and is not expected to offer protection against this new type of influenza. Sanofi Pasteur is working with the WHO and the CDC on the development of a separate vaccine for the novel A(H1N1) influenza, commonly referred to as the new "swine" influenza.

 

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