Category Archive

New data announced today from four real-world studies shows the impact that cell-based and adjuvanted influenza vaccines can have in reducing the burden of seasonal influenza on hospitals and health systems.
The data from CSL Seqirus were presented at OPTIONS for the Control of Influenza (OPTIONS XI), being held in the United Kingdom.

The latest influenza data published by the U.S. CDC today collaborates recent findings announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.K.
'The current influenza surveillance data should be interpreted with caution as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has … likely played a role in reducing influenza virus transmission,' says the WHO.
The CDC's new FLUVIEW report focused on the 2021-2022 Influenza Season and clinical laboratory data, revealing whether influenza activity is increasing or decreasing in the USA.

According to the latest U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, the 2022-2023 influenza viruses have yet to arrive in the USA.
While seasonal influenza (flu) viruses are detected year-round, the exact timing and duration of flu seasons vary. Influenza activity often increases in October, with peak activity between December and February, says the CDC.

As the flu season approaches from the Southern Hemisphere this year, plenty of U.S. FDA-approved influenza vaccines are available to protect people.
However, anyone can get the flu before they are vaccinated, and occasionally even after.
To help reduce the severity of influenza in children, the FDA recently extended the use of a leading oral antiviral medicine.

According to research published this week in the Journal of Virology, coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A viruses changes neither the trajectory nor the severity of influenza A infections, regardless of timing. 
But should a person contract the influenza A virus first, the response to that infection can significantly suppress the SARS-CoV-2 impact.

The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, recently announced a Phase 1 clinical trial of a novel influenza vaccine that has begun inoculating healthy adult volunteers.
This innovative study will evaluate the safety of the whole-virus BPL-1357 vaccine candidate’s ability to prompt immune responses. 
BPL-1357 was developed by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

New influenza vaccine effectiveness data presented at the U.S. CDC’s June 22, 2022 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) show flu shots worked better during 2021 – 2022 than initially reported.
Published on June 23, 2022, this ACIP data shows flu shots reduced the risk of influenza illness by about 35% among vaccinated people.

Leading researchers recently hypothesized that Covid-19 vaccination rates could be associated with influenza vaccination rates.

If the U.S. government declares an influenza pandemic, a new vaccine production facility located in Holly Springs, North Carolina, is certified and ready to go.
New Jersey-based Seqirus announced today that the company's innovative manufacturing facility has successfully achieved all criteria required to establish domestic manufacturing capability for cell-based seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines as outlined by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

According to a recent retrospective cohort study conducted at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain, when adults were hospitalized with COVID-19, they were at a greater risk of death than those with influenza.
After accounting for potential confounders, including age, comorbidities, sex, disease severity, pneumonia, and corticosteroid treatment, these researchers found that COVID-19 patients were more than three times as likely to die after being admitted to hospital than influenza patients.