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Now is a Good Time to Get This Year’s Flu Shot

In Influenza Vaccine News by Influenza Vaccine

While most of the USA remains focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to also be aware of the 2020-2021 influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere that is fast approaching.
Influenza (flu) viruses typically spread each fall and winter, with activity peaking between December and February, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a digital statement published on September 30, 2020.

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COVID-19 Reduced the Southern Hemisphere’s Flu Season

In Influenza Vaccine News by Influenza Vaccine

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic led to fewer influenza virus cases being reported during the April to August 2020 time-period. 
This reduction in flu cases throughout the Southern Hemisphere as of September 25, 2020, was related to travel restrictions, coronavirus mitigation strategies, and social distancing measures.

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New Evidence on Relative Effectiveness of Adjuvanted Seasonal Influenza Vaccine in Seniors

In Influenza Vaccine News by Influenza Vaccine

A worldwide leader in influenza prevention announced the publication of new real-world evidence (RWE) that demonstrated an MF59® adjuvanted, trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) was more effective than a standard-dose, non-adjuvanted trivalent seasonal vaccine in preventing influenza-related medical office visits and hospitalizations in seniors during the 2017-2018 influenza season in the USA.
Adding MF59® adjuvant to an influenza vaccine is designed to enhance the immune response to the influenza strains contained in the vaccine in adults 65 years and older.

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Flu Shot and COVID-19 Vaccine Combo Launches Phase 1 Study

In Influenza Vaccine News by Influenza Vaccine

As influenza viruses approach the Northern Hemisphere during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are questioning which flu shot will perform best with the pending coronavirus vaccines becoming available.
Two companies believe they have a solution to this pending quandary.  
Massachusetts-based Vaxess Technologies has formed a partnership with the Taiwanese pharmaceutical company, Medigen Vaccine Biologics to develop a combined COVID-19 and quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine, delivered via the novel MIMIX patch system.

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Gen X'ers Have Different Influenza Antibodies

In Influenza Vaccine News by Influenza Vaccine

Penn Medicine researchers have found that those born in the late 1960s and the 1970s may be in a perpetual state of H3N2 influenza virus susceptibility, because their antibodies bind to H3N2 viruses, but fail to prevent infections.
According to a new study led by Scott Hensley, Ph.D., an associate professor of microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine in Pennsylvania, it is possible that the presence of high levels of non-neutralizing antibodies in middle-aged adults has contributed to the continued persistence of H3N2 viruses in the human population.

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Will This Year’s Seasonal Influenza Overtake Coronavirus?

In Influenza Vaccine News by Influenza Vaccine

‘The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic may become more difficult as we enter the fall and winter flu season,’ sate Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH). 
‘Each year influenza causes a surge in hospitalizations, and in combination with COVID-19, is a serious concern for healthcare systems across the USA,’ said Dr. Collins in a September 9, 2020 testimony.