Regulators approve new insect-based flu vaccine updated 9:25 AM
EST, Thu January 17, 2013 - Unlike other flu vaccines, Flublok
doesn't rely on eggs or the influenza virus - Instead, it's made
by growing a virus protein in insect cells - This allows for
more rapid production in the event of a pandemic, the FDA says -
The vaccine is available in limited supplies during the current
flu season (CNN) -- As flu season rages across the United
States, federal regulators say they have approved a new kind of
vaccine for the virus. The new product, Flublok, which is
available in limited supplies for the current season, is
different from other flu vaccines, because it isn't made using
eggs or an influenza virus, the Food and Drug Administration
said Wednesday. Instead, Flublok's production involves
programming insect cells grown in steel tanks to produce large
amounts of a particular flu virus protein, known as
hemagglutinin, according to Protein Sciences, the vaccine's
manufacturer. Most human antibodies that fight flu