2008/9 flu vaccines approved by US FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved this year's seasonal influenza vaccines that include new strains of the virus likely to cause illness in the country during the 2008/9 season. The six vaccines and their makers are: CSL's Afluria; GlaxoSmithKline's Fluarix; ID Biomedical Corp of Quebec, Canada's FluLaval; MedImmune Vaccines' FluMist; Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics' Fluvirin; and Sanofi Pasteur's Fluzone.

The FDA has changed all three strains for this year's flu vaccine, an unusual occurrence, it says, as ordinarily only one or two are updated from year to year. A list of the strains included in the 2008/9 vaccine can be found at: www.fda.gov/cber/flu/flu2008.htm. Of note, two of the three strains recommended for the USA this year are now in use for the Southern Hemisphere's 2008 influenza season, which is currently underway, it says.