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Teens Need To Hear About 'More Than Abstinence,' Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Says
Although it is "important for other young people to hear" Bristol Palin"s message "about how hard it is to be a teenage mother," her "lesson falls short by suggesting that any teen can successfully avoid premarital sex," a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial says. Palin, who gave birth in December 2008 after an unintended pregnancy and is the daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), has "changed her tune" since she said in a February interview that teen abstinence is ""not realistic at all,"" the editorial states. It adds that Bristol Palin -- now an "abstinence ambassador" for the Candie"s Foundation -- recently said that abstinence is "realistic" and that it is the "harder choice, but it"s the safer choice."The editorial continues that Palin is correct that "[a]bstinence is the only foolproof way to avoid pregnancy" and sexually transmitted infections. However, "any viable lesson about avoiding teen pregnancy should include methods besides avoiding sex, including the use of condoms," the editorial says. Recent studies have shown that abstinence-only sex education programs have had "no measurable impact on delaying teens from having sex for the first time," according to the editorial, which adds that teen pregnancy rates rose 5% between 2005 and 2007 after years of declines. Additionally, three out of 10 U.S. girls will get pregnant by age 20, a figure that increases to more than 50% for Hispanics and blacks. The editorial concludes that teens "need frank talk about premarital sex that includes all of the viable options to avoid pregnancy" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/15).

U.S. Decision On Use Of Adjuvants Could Reduce World Supply Of H1N1 Vaccine, Says Lancet Editorial
"A U.S. plan to rely on swine flu vaccines without ingredients to stretch the supply [known as adjuvants] would reduce the number of available shots just when other countries need them most, the British journal Lancet said in an editorial," Bloomberg writes. On July 7, the WHO recommended the use of adjuvants - "mixes of oil and water that trigger a stronger response in the body to antigen, the substance that induces immunity" - to increase the global vaccine supply. Though adjuvants are not approved for flu vaccines in the U.S., HHS" decision to declare the H1N1 flu a public health emergency in April gave the FDA the go-ahead to use "unapproved medical products including adjuvants," according to Bloomberg.
News of the day
Profiling Genes In Acutely Ill Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients, A Pitt Team First
The first findings from a one-of-a-kind, patient-driven effort to provide lung tissue for research might help doctors predict when patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are becoming dangerously ill and also could point the way to interventions that could sustain them until life-saving transplants can be performed.
Diagnostics

CSL Biotherapies Starts Shipment Of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine For The 2009-2010 Flu Season

CSL Biotherapies, a subsidiary of one of the world"s leading manufacturers of thimerosal-free seasonal influenza vaccine, announced that it has begun shipment of its seasonal influenza virus vaccine to a national network of U.S. distributors for the 2009-2010 season. CSL Biotherapies plans to deliver more than eight million doses of the vaccine, the majority of which will be in single-dose, thimerosal-free, pre-filled syringes. CSL Biotherapies" seasonal flu vaccine is indicated for the active immunization of persons age 18 years and older against influenza disease (commonly referred to as the "flu") caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B present in the vaccine. "CSL Biotherapies" early delivery of seasonal influenza vaccine to the U.S. clearly demonstrates our ability to rapidly optimize vaccine production in order to meet evolving public health needs," said Paul Perreault, President of CSL Biotherapies. "Working with the U.S. government, we are also moving quickly to develop a vaccine to address the H1N1 pandemic. Together, these efforts illustrate the expertise in influenza vaccine development and manufacturing that CSL has so successfully accumulated over the past 40 years." CSL Limited, the parent company of CSL Biotherapies, is the first vaccine manufacturer to initiate human clinical trials of the H1N1 influenza vaccine. First administration in healthy volunteers of CSL"s experimental H1N1 pandemic vaccine began on July 22 , 2009 in Australia. U.S. clinical studies are expected to commence in mid-August. CSL Biotherapies


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