The Government of British Columbia has recently announced that this season they will publicly fund FLUAD®, an inactivated, adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine indicated for all seniors residing in a community setting.1 This decision builds on a similar program adopted by the Government of Ontario to offer FLUAD® to all seniors in the community since 2019.
As the B.C. government noted in its announcement, enhanced influenza vaccines stimulate stronger immune responses to compensate for immune system weakening associated with aging, giving seniors better protection against influenza than standard-dose vaccines.1 The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control has affirmed the decision by stating that there is evidence from observational studies favouring the use of enhanced flu vaccines such as FLUAD® for adults 65 years of age and older when compared to standard-dose unadjuvanted influenza vaccines.2
“The Government of British Columbia’s decision to offer FLUAD® to adults 65 years of age and older will have a positive impact on the health of seniors within the province,” said Bertrand Roy, Ph.D., Country Head Medical Affairs Canada at CSL Seqirus. “By making enhanced influenza vaccine publicly available for seniors, B.C. is taking the right steps to protect seniors from influenza and help lessen the burden of influenza-related hospitalization on the province’s healthcare system.”
Influenza causes an average of 12,200 hospitalizations and approximately 3,500 deaths each year in Canada.3 Adults 65 years of age and older are at greater risk due to immunosenescence, the age-associated decline of the immune system. FLUAD® helps the body to produce antibodies against the virus meaning that when adults 65 years and older are exposed to the flu virus, their bodies are better able to defend themselves.4,5
About CSL Seqirus
CSL Seqirus is part of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL). As one of the largest influenza vaccine providers in the world, CSL Seqirus is a major contributor to the prevention of influenza globally and a transcontinental partner in pandemic preparedness. With state-of-the-art production facilities in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, and leading R&D capabilities, CSL Seqirus utilizes egg, cell and adjuvant technologies to offer a broad portfolio of differentiated influenza vaccines in more than 20 countries around the world.
About CSL
CSL (ASX: CSL; USOTC: CSLLY) is a leading global biotechnology company with a dynamic portfolio of lifesaving medicines, including those that treat haemophilia and immune deficiencies, as well as vaccines to prevent influenza. Since our start in 1916, we have been driven by our promise to save lives using the latest technologies. Today, CSL – including our three businesses, CSL Behring, CSL Seqirus and CSL Vifor – provides lifesaving products to patients in more than 100 countries and employs 30,000 people. Our unique combination of commercial strength, R&D focus and operational excellence enables us to identify, develop and deliver innovations so our patients can live life to the fullest. For inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit CSLBehring.com/Vita and follow us on Twitter.com/CSL.
For more information about CSL, visit www.CSL.com.
CSL SEQIRUS and MF59 are trademarks of CSL Seqirus.
Intended Audience
This press release is issued from CSL Seqirus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and is intended to provide information about our global business. Please be aware that information relating to the approval status and labels of approved CSL Seqirus products may vary from country to country. Please consult your local regulatory authority on the approval status of CSL Seqirus products.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future results, performance or achievements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Media Contact
Gill Stafford
+1 (438) 469-2004
Gillian.Stafford@Seqirus.com
1 Government of B.C.: Province prepares for fall respiratory viruses, encourages people to get vaccinated: September 2022. Retrieved from https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0189-001458. Accessed September 2022.
2 BCCDC: Influenza vaccines for adults 65 years of age and older: Question and Answer Document: August 2022. Retrieved from http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Guidelines%20and%20Forms/Guidelines%20and%20Manuals/Immunization/Vaccine%20Info/Influenza-vaccines-adults-65-older-QandA.pdf#page=1&zoom=100,93,649. Accessed September 2022.
3 Government of Canada. (2020). Canadian Immunization Guide Chapter on Influenza and Statement on Seasonal Influenza Vaccine for 2020–2021. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/vaccines-immunization/canadian-immunization-guide-statement-seasonal-influenza-vaccine-2020-2021.html. Accessed September 2022.
4 FLUAD® QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Vaccine, Adjuvanted). Holly Springs, NC: Seqirus Inc; 2019.
5 Frey SE, Aplasca-De Los Reyes MR, Reynales H, et al. (2014). Comparison of the safety and immunogenicity of an MF59®-adjuvanted with a non-adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine in elderly subjects. Vaccine. 2014;32:5027-5034.