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The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) last week recommended that children 6 months to 9 years of age who did not receive at least one dose of the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine last season should receive two doses of the upcoming seasonal vaccine. The committee also advised that children in this age group receive two doses if they received only the H1N1 vaccine previously.
The recommendation came in response to data presented at the ACIP meeting, June 23-24, regarding the immunogenicity of the H1N1 vaccine among different age groups. Reports presented to the committee continue to support the safety of the vaccine, according to IDSA’s ACIP liaison, Samuel Katz, MD, FIDSA. Several large studies of the H1N1 vaccine and of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine have revealed no Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in the 42 days following vaccination. Other updates suggested that supply of the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccine, expected to be available in early autumn, would be more than adequate, Dr. Katz said.
Committee members also received an update on pertussis, which remains the most frequent vaccine-preventable infection, highlighted by a current outbreak in California involving five infant deaths. Vaccination of adolescents and adults—including postpartum mothers to prevent transmission to their newly born infants—must be enhanced, and more research is needed on administering the vaccine to pregnant women.
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