Resources for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

FDA changes all 3 strains in 2008-09 flu vaccine

www.newsday.com

Federal health officials have completed their selection of the three viral strains to be included in next season's flu vaccine, marking the first time in 20 years that they're calling for a complete reformulation of the inoculation.

Vaccine strains are chosen nearly a year in advance because of the long preparation time needed for manufacturing, a laborious process that involves growing the doses in millions of chicken eggs.

Three deactivated viral strains are included in the annual recipe to provide protection against the dominant strains in circulation. Usually, only one or two of those strains are changed each year, but global flu trackers have found that influenza has been particularly widespread this season in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, driven by strains that emerged after the current vaccine was formulated.

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