Flu spray better than shots for young kids

ATLANTA: When it comes to flu vaccines, a federal panel says a squirt in the nose is better than a shot in the arm for young children.

The advisory panel voted Wednesday to advise doctors that FluMist nasal spray is a bit better at preventing flu in healthy young kids. The recommendation is specific to ages 2 through 8 only.

Some studies have found that kids within that age group are about half as likely to get the flu if they had the spray vaccine instead of a shot.

Federal health officials usually adopt the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. A flu vaccine is now recommended for virtually everyone over 6 months old.

AstraZeneca's FluMist is the only spray vaccine on the market. It was first licensed in 2003 and is approved for healthy people ages 2 to 49. Unlike flu shots made from a killed virus, it is made from a live but weakened flu virus.

Experts say the spray prompts a better immune response in children who may have never been infected with flu before, but there isn't a clear difference in adults.

The nation's largest pediatrician's group, however, objected to giving preference to the spray for kids. A representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics noted FluMist is more expensive, it can't be used for everyone and doctors have already ordered their vaccine doses for the fall flu season.

Dr. Michael Brady of Ohio State University also said the vote hinged on studies that were done before flu vaccine was encouraged for most children and vaccination rates were much lower. It's possible fresher data might not show such a difference, he said.

"We really feel you shouldn't place (doctors) and families in a situation where if they don't receive the live vaccine, they feel they're getting an inferior product. Because it may not be an inferior product," he said.

Health officials at Wednesday's meeting stressed that if doctors don't have FluMist in stock, flu shots are perfectly fine — both work. FluMist costs about $23; shots range from about $8 to $22.

Of children ages 2 to 17 who get a flu vaccine, 44 percent get FluMist, according to AstraZeneca. The company decided to make more for the coming flu season — 18 million doses, up from 13 million last year — partly in anticipation of the panel's vote, said Kathleen Coelingh, senior director of US medical affairs.

COAS speech far better than expectations

ISLAMABAD: The army chief, General Raheel Sharif, made an excellent speech, far better than expectations, and much to the satisfaction of the nation. We hope he will stick to his words for the better future of Pakistan.

The general sounded like a true professional soldier, showed complete faith in democracy, talked about upholding the Constitution and the rule of law, appreciated the role of civil society and the media, and paid rich tributes to the role of the Pakistan Army, intelligence agencies and police, etc.

To the discomfort of India and the likes of Narendra Modi, General Sharif referred to Kashmir as the “jugular vein” of Pakistan and sent a clear message to India that though Pakistan does pursue the objective of peace, it could neither forget Kashmir nor put this major irritant between the two countries on the backburner. The only missing point, an important one, in the army chief’s speech was Islam and the Islamic ideology.During the recent weeks, there have been ups and downs in the civil-military relationship, which led to a lot of gossiping about the “anger” and “uneasiness” in the military circles. But hearing the army chief in this fashion was like music to one’s ears.

General Raheel showed his complete faith in democracy, the upholding of the Constitution and rule of law and insisted that this was the only way forward and the real path to the country’s progress. Raheel insisted that all institutions of the state have to play their role in strengthening the system.

Such commitment to democracy, Constitution and the rule of law from the army chief would serve as a real shut up call to some of those retired generals/air marshals, etc, and some “informed” defence correspondents who, while quoting their sources hurl subtle threats on the behalf of army and create misunderstandings between the civilian and military leaderships. General Raheel’s speech has proved one point that such retired generals/air marshals and journalists are not trustworthy. They are perhaps pursuing someone else’s agenda to create rifts and invite troubles for Pakistan.

In the midst of the ongoing Geo-ISI controversy, General Raheel Sharif also chose to appreciate the role of civil society and the media. I had my fears that he might give a passing remark on the Geo-ISI controversy but he did not mention it at all. General Sharif was instead all praise for the role of the media. He also voiced his complete support to the freedom of press and responsible media. With such a man being the army chief, I do expect better handling of the situation arising out of the post-Hamid Mir attack Geo-ISI controversy.

As the anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim BJP’s extremist Narendra Modi, who is generally expected to be the next prime minister of India, recently talked of a possible May 2 Abbottabad like strike in Pakistan to target Dawood Ibrahim, the army chief, General Raheel, sent a clear message to India that no nonsense would be accepted by the Pakistan Army.

He instead made India feel uneasy by referring to Kashmir as the jugular vein of Pakistan. Raheel appreciated the sacrifices made by the people of held Kashmir and urged upon the need for resolving the issue in line with the UN resolutions and the desire of the Kashmiri people.

Raheel Sharif’s speech, on the one hand, has won the acclaim of those struggling for the rule of law and upholding of the Constitution and, on the other hand, his words would give sleepless nights to Narendra Modi in India and those here trying to create a rift between the civilian and military leaderships.

Malala Yousafzai urges for better protection of children

LONDON: On Commonwealth Day, Malala Yousafzai has urged the Commonwealth countries to provide better assistance for the protection of children.

She was addressing an event organized in Westminster abbey to celebrate Commonwealth Day.

Malala said it’s an honor for her to be there. She said the forum of Commonwealth is basically like a family for all the nations around the world, where no one is judged on the basis of religion, race or gender.

She said that school-going kids face a lot of trouble every day. Especially children in Pakistan, India and various African countries have to deal with many hurdles like poverty, violence and cultural barriers in order to get education.

The young schoolgirl activist has requested the Commonwealth to guard children worldwide from being exploited through child labour and trafficking.

Queen Elizabeth and other royal family members were also present at the event.