Seasonal influenza vaccines approved and shipping

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has approved seasonal influenza vaccines produced by six manufacturers and at least two of the companies said they have already begun or will soon begin shipping the vaccines to U.S. customers. The vaccine protects against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus that caused an uproar last winter, as well as two other strains of influenza that are not as widespread but that nonetheless can be a problem.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in February changed its recommendations for who should receive the shots. Previous guidelines had indicated that young children, the elderly and those with underlying health risks should be vaccinated, but did not recommend vaccinations for healthy people between the ages of 19 and 49. The new recommendations suggest that everyone over the age of 6 months get the shots.

Sanofi Pasteur, the largest supplier of U.S. vaccines, said it has already shipped the first of the 70 million doses it expects to produce for this winter’s influenza season. GlaxoSmithKline said it will begin shipping 30 million doses of its vaccine in the next few weeks.

Thomas H. Maugh II