The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued updated recommendations for the use of trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine and antiviral medications for the prevention and treatment of influenza in children. The AAP policy statement, "Recommendations for Prevention and Control of Influenza in Children, 2010-2011," will be published in the October 2010 print issue of Pediatrics and released early online on August 30.

Flu vaccine will soon be available at local pharmacies and doctor's offices, and government officials are urging everyone over 6 months of age to receive it. This year's vaccine protects against H1N1 and two other strains of seasonal flu.

The recommendation represents a break from past years, when the government focused on vaccinating people in certain "high-risk" groups and those in contact with people at high risk.

Global vaccine sales "grew by a healthy 16 percent last year, when sales shot up to $22.1 billion, healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information reported Friday," according to the Associated Press. Kalorama is also forecasting sales "will rise at a compound annual rate of 9.7 percent during the next five years," (Johnson, 8/14).

Approximately 40 million doses of swine flu vaccine, worth around US$260 million are to be burned. Jerry Weir, Vaccines Research and Review, FDA (Food and Drug Administration, USA) commented that by historical standards "It's a lot".

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have determined people who were vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus may also be protected against the lethal 1918 Spanish influenza virus, which killed more than 50 million people worldwide. The new findings are published in the current issue of Nature Communications.

Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) announces the first report of a vaccine protecting ferrets against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus has been published in the journal Vaccine May 12, 2010 online issue. Scientists from Novavax and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based in Atlanta, GA, under a collaborative agreement, co-authored the scientific report.

Actual revenues earned on H1N1 'swine flu' vaccines may not have reached the levels predicted by some optimistic industry executives and analysts last year, but the vaccines boosted the bottom line of several pharmaceutical companies in an otherwise tough year, according to healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is investigating reports of an increase in adverse events to the seasonal flu vaccine in Western Australia (WA), where all children 6 months to 5 years have been offered a free seasonal flu vaccination.

A new study finds that reports of a neurologic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have been low after 2009 H1N1 vaccination, according to a research study that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010. The study is one of the first national reports of the occurrence of GBS after 2009 H1N1 vaccination.