26 Feb 2009
WHO Announces Agreement on Live, Attenuated Influe=
nza
Vaccines
On February 25 the World Health Organization (WH=
O)
posted on the top of their website homepage a synopsis of "Progress in
Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Preparedness". They noted that by early Apr=
il
(within 6 weeks from now) revised and upda=
ted
(from 2005) guidelines will be issued by WHO on their entire global influen=
za
preparedness plan.
In a major announcement the WHO reported that it has recently signed an
agreement with the vaccines division (called "Nob=
ilon")of
the company Schering-Plough "in which WHO has been granted a
non-exclusive license to develop, register, manufacture, use and sell seaso=
nal
and pandemic live, attenutated (or weakened)
influenza (LAIV) vaccines produced on chicken eggs. WHO will thus be able to
grant sub-licenses to vaccine manufacturers in developing countries who are
working within the framework of the WHO Global Influenza Action Plan to
Increase Vaccine Supply".
The WHO emphasized that the above nations will then be able to provide such
vaccines royalty-free to their public sectors.
Live attenuated influenza vaccines were noted by WHO to have the following
three advantages over the current inactivated flu vaccines:
1. "The number of doses of LAIV which can be produced per egg are much
higher than with inactivated vaccines, Especially in a pandemic situation, =
this
is considered to be a major advantage since more vaccine doses can be made
available in a shorter time.
2.LAIVs are administered in the nose through a v=
ery
simple device, which can be much easier to put into practice on a large-sca=
le
by non-medically trained staff in case of a pandemic.
3. Since a LAIV mimics natural infection more than inj=
ectable
vaccines, it is expected that LAIV induces a more rapid and broader immune
response. This may be of particular interest in pandemic situations."<=
br>
> >
> > Daniel R. Lucey, MD, MPH
> > EROne Institute, Department of Emerge=
ncy
Medicine
> >
> > Adjunct Professor fo
Microbiology and Immunology
> >
> >
> >