News in brief - Jan. 6, 2003

Pentavalent vaccine approved - Addressing teen drinking

Pentavalent vaccine approved

The Food and Drug Administration last month approved the first vaccine with antigens to five diseases. Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, Pediarix provides protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and hepatitis B and is expected to reduce by six the number of shots that infants receive during the first six months of life.

"We believe this combination vaccine will not only help ease the United States immunization process for both parents and health care professionals, but may also reduce parent anxiety and infant pain and discomfort associated with multiple injections," said Barbara Howe, MD, vice president, Clinical Research and Development and Medical Affairs, Vaccines North America, GlaxoSmithKline.

Pediarix is associated with a slightly higher risk of fever than monovalent vaccines, but otherwise has a similar risk-benefit profile.

The FDA recommended that the pentavalent vaccine be used at the two-, four- and six-month visits when infants would traditionally receive separate inoculations.

Addressing teen drinking

AMA Secretary-Treasurer John C. Nelson, MD, MPH, urged an Institute of Medicine committee to adopt a comprehensive approach when addressing the serious problem of underage drinking in its upcoming report on the subject.

Social, economic, cultural, physical and political issues all contribute to the growing use of alcohol by young people 12 to 17, Dr. Nelson told the IOM's Board on Children, Youth and Families.

Policy-makers must evaluate all forms of alcohol advertising and marketing that can influence children, and existing regulations and laws must be uniformly enforced, said Dr. Nelson at a Nov. 18, 2002 public forum on the issue. Dr. Nelson also pledged that the AMA would work to make physicians more effective in screening and intervening with young people who abuse alcohol.

"Working together -- parents, schools, law enforcement, policy-makers, public health and medicine can ameliorate the underage drinking problem, which will vastly improve our children's health and the health of our communities," Dr. Nelson said.

The committee's report is expected to be available in May.