The following are important considerations regarding the H1N1 vaccines:

• The most vulnerable groups are: pregnant women, health care workers and emergency medical responders, any household contacts of children 6 months and younger, children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years, and people aged 25-64 years with underlying medical conditions (e.g., asthma, diabetes)
• Dosing recommendations: Based on available data, children 9 years of age and younger should receive 2 doses of the monovalent pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus vaccine; adults and children 10 years of age and older should receive one dose.
• Contraindications to administering the vaccine include
  • Egg allergies
  • Previous severe allergic reaction to a previous flu vaccine
  • History of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)
• Adverse Reactions to the H1N1 vaccine are expected to be similar to those of the seasonal flu vaccine including mild fever, body aches, fatigue and soreness at the injection site.
• The H1N1 vaccine is NOT part of the seasonal flu vaccine; it is a separate monovalent vaccine. It is important to note that the seasonal trivalent flu vaccines do contain a H1N1 subtype; this differs from the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus strain, which is a new virus that has never been seen in humans before. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against the new 2009 H1N1 influenza virus strain.
Antiviral Drugs used to treat the H1N1 Influenza Infection:
• Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) and Relenza (Zanamivir) are FDA-approved for the prevention and treatment of influenza infections.
  • IMPORTANT: Dosing errors have been reported with Tamiflu for Oral Suspension where the patient dosing instructions do not match the dosing dispenser. In most cases, dosing information for liquid medications are written in milliliters (mL) or teaspoons; however, the dosing dispenser packaged with Tamiflu only has markings for 30, 45, and 60 mg doses. Pharmacists should ensure that the units of measure on the prescription instructions match the dosing device provided with the drug.
• Clinical Pharmacology provides specific information regarding considerations for dosing of Tamiflu in children over 1 year as well as use in children < 1 year of age as well as guidelines H1N1 treatment during pregnancy.
• Compounding information to prepare an oseltamivir oral suspension of 15 mg/ml may be found within the Administration section of the Oseltamivir monograph.

For complete Clinical Pharmacology H1N1 resources, visit clinicalpharmacology.com

Back to Elsevier's Clinical Decision Support H1N1 Resource summary.