Via CIDRAP, a report by Lisa Schnirring: CDC launches universal flu vaccination recommendation. Excerpt:
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today endorsed its vaccine advisory group’s recommendation for universal influenza immunization, as public health groups prepare to shift gears from pushing the pandemic H1N1 vaccine to drawing the public’s attention to the new seasonal flu vaccine advice.
The CDC issued a comprehensive update on seasonal flu vaccination, which includes the new universal recommendation, in an early online edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). In February the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended seasonal flu immunizations for nearly everyone except babies younger than 6 months old.
Based on literature reports on the vaccine’s safety and its ability to prevent disease, the CDC has been expanding its recommendation, and by 2009 its seasonal flu vaccination recommendation covered 85% of the population.
The CDC’s latest expansion includes all healthy, nonpregnant adults aged 18 to 49. The CDC said expanding the recommendation to that group helps address two problems: Flu complications can occur, even in healthy people, and many adults with underlying conditions such as diabetes and asthma don’t consider themselves at increased risk.
