Sanofi Pasteur begins shipment on 4 different flu vaccines
SWIFTWATER, Pa. - The first doses of Sanofi Pasteur's Fluzone (Influenza Vaccine) for the 2015-2016 influenza season have been released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for shipment, the company announced Tuesday. This represents the first of more than 65 million total doses of seasonal influenza vaccine manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur that will be delivered to U.S. health care providers and pharmacies beginning in July and continuing throughout the 2015-2016 flu season.
Sanofi Pasteur will supply a wide portfolio of Fluzone influenza vaccine options this season to meet the immunization needs of multiple age groups, from children as young as six months of age through adults 65 years of age and older, including:
Fluzone High-Dose vaccine is specially formulated for adults 65 years of age and older. As people age, the immune system weakens, which can put older adults at risk for influenza-related complications. Clinical data demonstrated that Fluzone High-Dose vaccine was 24.2% more effective than Fluzone vaccine in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza caused by any influenza viral type or subtype in association with influenza-like illness, in adults 65 years of age and older;
Fluzone Intradermal Quadrivalent vaccine, licensed by the FDA in 2014 for adults 18 through 64 years of age, will be available for the first time this influenza season. Fluzone Intradermal Quadrivalent vaccine offers four-strain protection in a microinjection system that is convenient, efficient and easy to use, allowing for streamlined administration by health care providers. The vaccine is administered directly into the skin through a 90% smaller, 1.5 mm microneedle. As the skin has a high concentration of immune cells, an intradermal vaccine is able to use the skin's natural defenses to induce a robust immune response. In addition, the microinjection system is ideal for vaccine administrators, since it has a pre-affixed needle and an integrated needle shield;
Fluzone Quadrivalent vaccine helps protect against four influenza strains (two A strains and two B strains), in contrast to trivalent influenza vaccines, which help protect against three strains (two A strains and only one B strain). The influenza B strain is associated with high hospitalization and mortality rates, especially in children and young adults. In fact, on average, over multiple recent seasons, 34% of influenza-related deaths in children up to 18 years of age were due to influenza B. Fluzone Quadrivalent vaccine is licensed for use in people six months of age and older; and
Fluzone vaccine, a trivalent influenza vaccine that protects against three influenza strains, is approved for use in people six months of age and older.
Health care providers who placed reservations with Sanofi Pasteur should expect to receive initial shipments by the end of August to support fall immunization campaigns.