Fluzone High-Dose Vaccine - good or bad?
Influenza is a common illness prevailing in every part of the world. It is an acute infection caused by the influenza viruses. There are vaccines available for controlling influenza. The commercial name of one such vaccine is Fluzone, manufactured by the Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group. In USA and other countries this vaccine is commonly used to prevent influenza.
Recently, the Sanofi Pasteur has produced Fluzone High-Dose Vaccine, created specifically for seniors, for 65-year-olds and olders. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved the new high-dose vaccine terming it safe. But it has been found from some clinical studies after the introduction of the Fluzone High-Dose Vaccine that there are a lot of adverse effects of the vaccine.
One of the primary differences between the regular Fluzone vaccine and Fluzone High-Dose Vaccine for seniors is that the latter contains four times more microbial antigen - the lab altered flu viruses - that prompt the body to produce antibodies to the three different influenza strains contained in the flu vaccine. The assumption is that the seniors need more antigen in order to provoke the desired immune response, because studies have found that the flu vaccine creates only a weak immune response in the elderly.
A study is going on to determine the effectiveness of Fluzone High-Dose Vaccine in preventing illness from influenza compared to Fluzone. The study is expected to be completed in 2014-2015. If this is the case, I think more clinical studies are needed before the Fluzone High-dose Vaccine is prescribed for elderly people.
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