The MRHA has permitted Sanofi Pasteur MSD UK’s quadrivalent influenza vaccine, which includes two A strains (A/H1N1 and A/H3N2) and two B strains (B/Victoria and B/Yamagata) of the virus.
The mainstream of seasonal influenza vaccines in the UK are at this time trivalent, means they help out to protect aligned with three strains of the influenza vaccine; two a strains and a single B strain. However, in the UK’s 2015-2016 flu season 94 percent of influenza B cases belonged to the B/Victoria pedigree. This extraction was only incorporated in quadrivalent formulations and not incorporated in the trivalent vaccines suggested by the World Health Organization.
According to Sanofi Pasteur MSD, “Inclusion of the second B strain in quadrivalent influenza vaccines can help to provide broader protection by minimizing the impact of a mismatch of vaccine and disease-causing strains. It is predicted that quadrivalent vaccines will become a new standard in the preclusion of influenza and is devoted to work with healthcare professionals to facilitate and protect adequate populations.”
The company added that if quadrivalent vaccines were used in the UK over the past decade, it has been anticipated that an additional quarter of a million influenza cases could have been evaded, including 5,940 influenza-related hospitalizations and 3,955 influenza-related deaths.
Date: 26th July’ 2016
http://www.pharmatimes.com/news/sanofi_pasteur_msds_four-strain_flu_vaccine_approved_1081255