MMUNIZATION NEWS

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U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

" FluMist to the Rescue "

Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (12/15/03) P. E1; Barbaro,

The makers of FluMist, the nasal spray influenza vaccine safe for those

between the ages of five years and 50 years, had originally believed they

would sell 4 million doses during the 2003-2004 flu season, but they had

sold just 400,000 doses as pharmacies and clinics avoided the new vaccine

formulation. Now, however, as the number of injected flu shots available

has dwindled to nearly nothing and the flu spreads across the country with

surprising strength and speed, FluMist is suddenly on call as a viable

alternative, though some pharmacy chains are still not interested, given

the vaccine's high cost and complicated storage requirements. The uptick

in FluMist sales has not been huge, but it has been noticeable, prompting

investors to push up the stock price of MedImmune, which makes the vaccine.

However, doctors and analysts note that this year's flu crisis does not

necessarily mean that FluMist will sell better in years to come, though if

MedImmune can prove its belief that FluMist provides greater coverage

against the flu than the shot, things may turn around for the nasal spray.

" Scientists Agonized Over Choosing Less-Than-Perfect Flu Vaccine "

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (12/15/03); Haney, Q.

Vaccine experts had to decide last winter on how to design this year's

influenza vaccine, choosing between keeping last year's formula or making a

new one, with neither choice being particularly appealing. They ended up

going with the old formula even though a new strain was gathering strength,

rather than risking complications and delays, but the new strain is proving

dominant this season, and no one knows how much protection the 83 million

doses of vaccine that were manufactured will give. Flu viruses mutate

rapidly, and scientists have to guess which one will be most prevalent, and

flu vaccines take time to make.

" Spotlight Shifts to Flu Drugs "

Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com) (12/15/03) P. F5; Roan, Shari

Antiviral medications have become a new focus in the fight against the flu

as the flu vaccine becomes scarce. Antiviral flu medications can prevent

infection in people with known exposure to the illness as well as decrease

symptoms and duration of the flu once contracted; the drugs must be given

to patients within 48 hours of the first symptoms, however. Experts hope

the four antiviral drugs currently on the market will help decrease the

impact of this year's flu outbreak, which looks particularly harsh. " If

people do get ill or require a visit to the physician, or hospitalization,

in particular, with a severe case of the flu, treatments are available, and

that can make a big difference, " noted Dr. Gerberding, director of

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

" Global Flu Outbreak Lurking and Unstoppable, Experts Say "

Chicago Tribune (www.chicagotribune.com) (12/14/03) P. 18; Ritter, Malcolm

The influenza virus has spread quickly in the United States this year,

causing many more cases of illness and more deaths than usual, but health

experts say that this is no global pandemic, though they warn that one is

coming. Doctors do not know exactly when a flu pandemic will come, but

they are seeing signs that it will arrive sometime soon, as it has been 35

years since the last pandemic--and there had been two in the 50 years prior

to that one. The World Health Organization predicts that the next pandemic

will put between 1 million and 2.3 million people into hospitals in the

developed world alone, killing 280,000 to 650,000 of them, striking quickly

enough to avoid the current system of creating and distributing vaccines

against flu. A number of U.S. agencies are thus working to speed up the

vaccine development program and to figure out how to produce more of the

vaccine more quickly.

" Many People Resist Flu Shots "

Miami Herald (www.miami.com) (12/14/03) P. A3; Prater, Connie

Although Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates suggest

that 185 million people in the United States could have serious

complications from influenza in any given year, the previous record for flu

shots in the country has been 70 million people, though the 2003-2004

season will break that record with more than 83 million vaccinees. The CDC

is concerned about the lack of interest in a flu vaccine and is looking for

ways to understand patient apathy so that it might change the attitude in

the future. Doctors note that many patients believe that the flu shot can

make them ill, though the injected vaccine is not made with live virus and

presents no risk of causing sickness. Other reasons cited for avoiding the

flu vaccine include having gotten the shot in the past and feeling sick

afterwards, general distrust of vaccines in general, and being healthy.

" U.S. to Assist Emergency Workers Hurt by Smallpox Vaccine "

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (12/12/03)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that

emergency response workers who developed health problems due to the

smallpox vaccinations can seek compensation from the federal government via

a $42 million program offering medical and financial benefits. Over 38,000

emergency responders were vaccinated, and officials believe about 2 percent

had some kind of medical injury due to the vaccinations. The program also

offers benefits for those who may have become ill from being in contact

with a vaccinated person, and for survivors of those who died.

" HHS to Fund Early Warning Disease Surveillance System Along the

U.S.-Mexico Border "

HHS News Release (www.hhs.gov) (12/12/03)

The United States-Mexico Border Health Commission has been given $5.4

million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund the

expansion of its disease surveillance system in an effort to catch

increases in both naturally occurring diseases and potential bioterrorism.

The program, which will reach full implementation by 2006, will focus on

identification, early detection, epidemiological investigations, and

reporting of potential bioterrorism threats. The expansion will build upon

the previous bi-national disease surveillance system established between

U.S. border states and Mexico.

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

" Mainland Encephalitis Vaccine to Be Tested "

South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com) (12/13/03) P. 2; Benitez, Ann

Bill and Melinda Gates' Children's Vaccine Program is funding clinical

trials of a new vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne

disease that attacks the central nervous system. According to

son, project director of the Seattle-based program, development of the

vaccine was being fast-tracked, because " vaccination is the answer to

Japanese encephalitis. A lot has been done worldwide to eradicate

mosquitoes, but the methods do not work. " The vaccine was created by a

doctor in Beijing, son said.

" Prevent Liver Cancer Through Hepatitis Vaccine "

Philippine Daily Inquirer (www.philnews.com) (12/13/03); Salazar, Tessa R.

Liver cancer is one of the three top deadly cancers in the Philippines,

despite the availability of a hepatitis B vaccine that can stop it. The

Philippine Department of Health's Expanded Program on Immunization requires

infants to get vaccinated against polio, measles, tetanus, and diphtheria,

but the hepatitis B vaccine is given only if supplies are available. By

law, children under the age of eight and infants must be vaccinated against

hepatitis B, and the health department was able to purchase 26 million

Philippine pesos worth of hepatitis B vaccine this year for 60 percent of

the target population.

" Fighting Back With Synthetic Antibodies "

Financial Times (www.ft.com) (12/12/03) P. 13; Firn,

Pharmaceutical companies have had trouble developing cancer vaccines, as

cancer cells can often eliminate the cell surface markers that attract the

antibodies. Dendreon's Provenge product, which utilizes engineered cancer

antigens that act differently from traditional cancer vaccines, is in

late-stage trials. A personalized cancer vaccine using proteins extracted

from a patient's cancer is being tested by Antigenics as a means to improve

the performance of Gleevec. Micromet is trying an approach where one

antibody recognizes T cells and the other goes after tumors.