12.22.2009

protect who?

1. single dose of vaccine enough to protect kids

Infants and children can be protected from H1N1 virus with just one dose of vaccine, a new study claims.

As part of the research, Terry Nolan, from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of two doses of a 2009 influenza A(H1N1) vaccine in 370 healthy infants and children.

The kids were aged between six-months to less than 9 years and were living in Australia.

They were divided into groups before they received a two-injection regimen in a gap of 21 days.

The vaccine dose was limited to either 15-micrograms or 30-micrograms.

In the end, the experts noted that every child had achieved an antibody level considered high enough to protect against the H1N1 virus.


read more @ the hindu



2. child dies after single dose


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A gynecologist is planning to sue the Centers for Disease Control over the death of his seven-year-old son after receiving the A (H1N1) flu virus vaccine, reports said Tuesday.

The CDC denied there was a link between the two and said it would continue its present inoculation campaign.

The Taichung boy, surnamed Liu, did not have any history of medical problems before being immunized at school on November 19, said Chang Yao-tsung, an opposition Democratic Progressive Party member of the Taichung City Council speaking on behalf of the child’s parents.

His health started deteriorating the following day, with red blotches appearing on the sole of his feet. The boy’s father, a gynecologist only mentioned with his surname Liu, took him to a local private clinic where he was told the problem might be a skin disease or an allergy provoked by the vaccine....The seven-year-old officially died of sepsis Monday, more than a month after being inoculated.

read more @ taiwan news



3. former director of CDC named president of Merck vaccine division

Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was named president of Merck & Co Inc's vaccine division, the company said on Monday.

Gerberding, who led the CDC from 2002 to 2009, stepped down when President Barack Obama took office.

She had led the agency from one crisis to another, including the investigation into the anthrax attacks that killed five people in 2001, the H5N1 avian influenza, the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and various outbreaks of food poisoning.

"As a preeminent authority in public health, infectious diseases and vaccines, Dr. Gerberding is the ideal choice to lead Merck's engagement with organizations around the world that share our commitment to the use of vaccines to prevent disease and save lives," Merck Chief Executive Officer Richard Clark said in a statement.

"I am very excited to be joining Merck where I can help to expand access to vaccines around the world," added Gerberding, who will head up the company's $5 billion global vaccine business that includes shots to prevent chickenpox, cervical cancer and pneumonia.

source: prevent disease

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