NEW DELHI, India: Abbott recently launched a new inactivated quadrivalent vaccine for influenza, the first of its kind sub-unit vaccine offering protection against four virus strains, in India.
t is the only 0.5 ml quadrivalent flu vaccine in India that has been approved for use in children below 3 years.
A globally approved product, Abbott’s vaccine offers wide protection by immunizing against four different flu virus strains simultaneously.
Hence, it is called a quadrivalent or tetravalent vaccine. It includes a second B-strain of influenza virus, compared to one B-strain included in trivalent vaccines.
Recommending a vaccine can be complex for the health authorities. This is because there may be a mismatch in the vaccine strain and the circulating viral strain.
Therefore, the inclusion of an additional B-strain in quadrivalent vaccines can help broaden protection.
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As per a recently published study on this vaccine globally, in children, quadrivalent vaccines demonstrated superior immunogenicity or immune response compared with the alternate- lineage B-strains in trivalent vaccines, with comparable safety.
This is the first 3rd generation, quadrivalent sub-unit flu vaccine in India. A sub-unit vaccine is the most advanced flu vaccine.
The benefit of a sub-unit vaccine is that it undergoes a further step of purification as compared to split vaccines, and thus is more refined. This may lead to lesser side-effects.
In clinical studies conducted globally across high-risk groups including children, the elderly, pregnant women, asthmatics and diabetics, sub-unit vaccines have shown better tolerability and a favourable safety profile compared to other flu vaccine types.”
