The meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) just updated the 2009 recommendations regarding the use of influenza vaccine for the prevention and control of influenza. These 2010 influenza recommendations include new and updated information.

Vaccination Production — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) consists of 15 experts in fields associated with immunization, who have been selected by the Secretary of HHS to provide advice and guidance to HHS and the CDC on the control of vaccine-preventable diseases. The role of the ACIP is to provide advice that will lead to a reduction in the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases in the United States, and an increase in the safe use of vaccines and related biological products.

Highlights of the 2010 revisions include:

Recommendation that annual vaccination be administered to all persons over 6 months of age for the 2010–11 influenza season
Recommendation that children aged 6 months–8 years should receive 2 doses of the 2010–11 seasonal influenza vaccine (minimum interval: 4 weeks) during the 2010–11 season if they meet the following criteria:
- Vaccination status is unknown OR
- Have never received seasonal influenza vaccine before (or who received seasonal vaccine for the first time in 2009–2010 but received only 1 dose in their first year of vaccination)
- Children who did not receive at least 1 dose of an influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine regardless of previous influenza vaccine history
Recommendation that vaccines contain the 2010–11 trivalent vaccine virus strains:
- A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like (the same strain as was used for 2009 H1N1 monovalent vaccines)
- A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like
- B/Brisbane/60/2008-like antigens be used
Information about Fluzone High-Dose, a newly approved vaccine for persons aged ≥65 years
Information about other standard-dose newly approved influenza vaccines and previously approved vaccines with expanded age indications. Vaccination efforts should begin as soon as the 2010–11 seasonal influenza vaccine is available and continue through the influenza season.

These recommendations also include a summary of safety data for U.S.-licensed influenza vaccines. These recommendations and other information are available at CDC’s influenza website (http://www.cdc.gov/flu); any updates or supplements that might be required during the 2010-2011 influenza season also will be available at this website.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr59e0729a1.htm?s_cid=rr59e0729a1_e