Check out our vaccine page for dosage schedule and pricing.
Questions and Answers
Question: I am travelling overseas a few weeks from now. When is a good time for me to get the flu vaccine? Shall I have the flu vaccine a week or so just before the overseas trip?
Answer: No. You should have the flu vaccine as soon as possible. The longer the time before the trip, the more time your body would have to react to the vaccination, and build up your immunity against the seasonal flu. And hence provide you better protection during your overseas trip.
Question: Why should I be vaccinated with the seasonal flu vaccine?
Answer: It is worthwhile to be vaccinated against the seasonal flu viruses, as they are the ones which are responsible for the majority of the flu related morbidity and mortality, due to the accompanying opportunistic infections and complications. Every year, worldwide, seasonal flu is responsible for 500 million to 1 billion infections, and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.
References
Influenza References
Influenza Symptoms Influenza Treatment Depending on your situation, there are a number of ways of managing influenza.
Tamiflu® For Flu Treatment:
Take 1 dose, twice daily, for 5 days
For Flu Prevention (prophylaxis):
Take 1 dose, once daily, for 10 days
Adults and Children
13 yrs. and older 1 Dose = One 75 mg capsule
References
Relenza® For Flu Treatment
for adults and children >5 years of age:
Administer 2 inhalations, twice daily, for 5 days
For Flu Prevention (prophylaxis)
for adults and juveniles >12 years of age:
Administer 2 inhalations, once daily, for 10 days
References
Influenza Vaccine History History of past WHO seasonal influenza vaccine composition recommendations
References
2009 Influenza Pandemic
The name of the disease has changed from "Swine Flu" to "Influenza A (H1N1)" and now to "Pandemic (H1N1) 2009". Now,
- "pandemic (H1N1) 2009" refers to the disease, and
- "pandemic H1N1/09 virus" refers to the agent.
For example: "Hundreds of new cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 were reported." References
2009 Influenza Pandemic Vaccine References
References
Latest News
Social Networks Influence Flu Shot Decision among College Students
Tue, 15 May 2012 04:25:01 +0100 | Health Behavior News Service
05/14/2012, Journal of Adolescent Health, College students' social networks influence their beliefs regarding the safety of influenza vaccines and decisions about vaccination, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. (Source: Health Behavior News Service)
In-Office Influenza Vaccination by US Pediatric Providers Varies Greatly and Is Higher Among Smaller Offices
Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 | Clinical Pediatrics
During the 2010-2011 US influenza season, 105 pediatric and 13 family practice offices participated in a prospective observational study of in-office influenza vaccination of children. Office characteristics, influenza vaccinations, and vaccination-related activities were reported. Among pediatric offices, first dose vaccination rates (2% to 60%), 2-dose compliance (11% to 100%), the duration of vaccine availability (60-302 days), and office visit type (well vs sick vs clinic) used for vaccinations varied greatly. Pediatric offices had higher vaccination coverage than family practice offices, offered vaccine longer, and administered more vaccinations during sick visits. Smaller offices and higher staff vaccination rates were associated with higher vaccination coverage. Smaller offices and ...
The Epidemiology of Interpandemic and Pandemic Influenza in Vietnam, 2007-2010: The Ha Nam Household Cohort Study I
Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 | American Journal of Epidemiology
Prospective community-based studies have provided fundamental insights into the epidemiology of influenza in temperate regions, but few comparable studies have been undertaken in the tropics. The authors conducted prospective influenza surveillance and intermittent seroprevalence surveys in a household-based cohort in Vietnam between December 2007 and April 2010, resulting in 1,793 person-seasons of influenza surveillance. Age- and sex-standardized estimates of the risk of acquiring any influenza infection per season in persons 5 years of age or older were 21.1% (95% confidence interval: 17.4, 24.7) in season 1, 26.4% (95% confidence interval: 22.6, 30.2) in season 2, and 17.0% (95% confidence interval: 13.6, 20.4) in season 3. Some individuals experienced multiple episodes of infection wi...
Pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) infection among 2009 Hajj Pilgrims from Southern Iran: a realâtime RTâPCRâbased study
Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 | Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses
Conclusionsâ Only five cases were found to be positive for A(H1N1)pdm09, and it seems unlikely that the arrival of infected pilgrims to their homelands would cause an outbreak of a new wave of infection there. Thus, the low morbidity and mortality rates among the pilgrims could be attributed to the characteristics of A(H1N1)pdm09, which causes morbidity and mortality in a way similar to the seasonal influenza infections, absence of highârisk individuals among the Iranian pilgrims, and the instructions given to them about contact and hand hygiene, and respiratory etiquette. (Source: Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses)
Evaluation of obesity as an independent risk factor for medically attended laboratoryâconfirmed influenza
Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 | Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses
Conclusionsâ Obesity was not associated with medically attended influenza among adults with acute respiratory illness in this population. (Source: Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses)
Measuring data reliability for preventive services in
electronic medical records
Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 | BMC Health Services Research
Conclusion:
There were differences between the change measured through medical record audits andadministrative datasets. Problems could include difficulties with organizing new data entryprocesses as well as continued use of both paper and EMRs. Data extracted from EMRs hadlimited reliability during the initial phase of EMR implementation. Unreliable data interfereswith the ability to measure and improve health care quality. (Source: BMC Health Services Research)
CD4+ Tâcell immunity after pandemic influenza vaccination crossâreacts with seasonal antigens and functionally differs from active influenza infection
Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 | European Journal of Immunology
In conclusion, T cells towards seasonal influenza antigens cross react with pandemic H1N1âantigens and affect induction of specific T cells after pandemic influenza vaccination. In addition, the cytokine patterns of specific T cells during acute H1N1âinfection and after vaccination differ, and the predominantly dualâpositive cytokineâprofile of vaccineâinduced T cells suggests sufficient functionality to confer successful virusâcontrol. (Source: European Journal of Immunology)
Use of the vaccination register to evaluate influenza vaccine coverage in seniors in the 2010/11 influenza season, Navarre, Spain.
Sat, 12 May 2012 03:24:02 +0100 | Euro Surveill
Authors: Aguilar I, Reyes M, Martinez-Baz I, Guevara M, Albeniz E, Belza M, Castilla J
PMID: 22551499 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Euro Surveill)
Bactericidal antibody response against P6, protein D, and OMP26 of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae after acute otitis media in otitisâprone children
Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 | FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology
AbstractThe bactericidal antibody response to three nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) outer membrane proteins (D, P6, and OMP26) was studied in 24 otitisâprone children (aged 7â28Â months) after an acute otitis media (AOM) caused by NTHi. The study was carried out to understand the contribution of antigenâspecific bactericidal antibody responses in the class of children who are most vulnerable to recurrent otitis media infections. Levels of protein D (PÂ =Â 0.005) and P6 (PÂ =Â 0.026) but not OMP26 antibodies were higher in bactericidal sera compared with nonbactericidal sera. For five (24%) and 16 (76%) of 21 bactericidal sera tested, removal of antiâprotein D and P6 antibody, respectively, resulted in a twoâ to fourfold drop in bactericidal antibody. Antibodies to OMP26...