Choices abound for 2013–14 influenza season

Abstract

Sanofi Pasteur’s new quadrivalent formulation of Fluzone, for example, sold out 24 hours after the vaccine’s availability was announced, Foster told Pharmacy Today. All of the 2013–14 infl uenza vaccines contain antigens for the following three strains: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) pdm09like virus A(H3N2) virus antigenically like the cell–propagated prototype virus A/Victoria/361/2011 B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus The quadrivalents—Fluarix Quadrivalent (GlaxoSmithKline), Fluzone Quadrivalent (Sanofi Pasteur), and FluMist Quadrivalent (MedImmune)— also contain B/Brisbane/60/2008-likevirus antigen. Vaccine choices for healthy adults Table 1 on the next page summarizes available infl uenza vaccines for the 2013–14 season. Not all of these fl u vaccines are right for everyone, however. For most healthy adults younger than 65 years, any of the inactivated infl uenza vaccines listed in the table can be used. Healthy, nonpregnant patients aged 2 years to 49 years can receive FluMist Quadrivalent, a live, attenuated nasal spray infl uenza vaccine that replaces the trivalent formulation used in the previous fl u season. For patients 65 years or older, there’s an alternative: Fluzone HighDose (Sanofi Pasteur), a trivalent formulation with four times as much antigen as regular infl uenza vaccine. It is the fi rst and only vaccine designed specifi cally for older adults. Adults aged 18 years to 49 years with serious egg allergies have a new option in FluBlok (Protein Sciences), a trivalent product made using recombinant processes. If FluBlok supplies run out, the cell culture–derived trivalent Flucelvax may be used instead, according to Foster, because it contains only a miniscule amount of egg protein. FDA has not licensed Flucelvax for use with patients who have egg allergies, however, since the seed virus was grown in eggs, Foster said.