CDC names target groups, priorities for novel H1N1 influenza
vaccine
Pregnant women top list; elderly patients not included.
Following a special meeting today of the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP), CDC announced a list of five target
groups for immunization against the 2009 (novel or pandemic) H1N1
influenza virus:
1. Pregnant women
2. Household contacts of infants younger than 6 months of age
3. Health care workers and emergency medical personnel
4. Children, adolescents, and young adults ages 6 months to 24
years
5. Nonelderly adults with underlying diseases placing them at
increased risk of complications from influenza infection
The amount of antigen that will be in the inactivated vaccine will be
15 micrograms (equivalent to the amount of other antigens in seasonal
vaccine) and the equivalent amount in the live attenuated vaccine. The
ACIP did not include use of an adjuvant in its current
recommendations.
Anne Schuchat, MD, Director of CDC’s National Center for
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told a media briefing that ACIP
also addressed the question of prioritization should insufficient
supplies of H1N1 vaccine be available initially or if local shortages
occur. While downplaying the possibility that prioritization will be
necessary, she said that the vaccine should first be used in groups 1
and 2 above, then in the subset of health workers and emergency medical
personnel who have direct contact with infected patients or clinical
samples, and then in children aged 6 months to 4 years and children and
adolescents aged 4 to 18 years with underlying diseases or risk
factors.
In response to media questions about the omission of elderly patients
from the target lists, Schuchat said that the emphasis in this group
should be seasonal influenza vaccination. Thus far, she added, patients
older than 65 years have been spared by the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.
Furthermore, once the target groups have been vaccinated against the
novel (pandemic) H1N1 influenza strain, other patients, including
healthy adults and the elderly, can receive the vaccine as supplies
allow. She stressed the importance of individuals getting their seasonal
influenza vaccination as soon as vaccine is available.
Web links
Related resources on www.pharmacist.com
L. Michael Posey, BPharm (mposey@aphanet.org)
Posted July 29, 2009; updated 9:00 a.m. July 30, 2009
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