Raymond J. (RJ) Fitch serves as the head of the Philadelphia site and the vice president of manufacturing for WuXi AppTec, a pharmaceutical company. Possessing more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries, RJ Fitch is a staunch supporter of vaccinations, specifically the influenza vaccine.
According to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a flu vaccine grown without eggs may perform significantly better than standard egg-based vaccines. During a congressional subcommittee that was called to address the severe flu season this year, Dr. Gottlieb revealed that early estimates suggest the new cell-culture vaccine worked 20-percent better than traditional vaccines.
Egg-based vaccines are grown in hen’s eggs. In most cases, the viruses produced this way mutate to grow in the eggs. These mutations improperly train the immune system of flu vaccine recipients. As a result, the vaccine is less effective, a problem that was seen this year.
It is believed that cell-culture vaccines do not mutate as much as egg-based vaccines. This makes cell-culture vaccines more effective because they train recipients’ immune systems to look for a more accurate version of the flu virus.
According to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a flu vaccine grown without eggs may perform significantly better than standard egg-based vaccines. During a congressional subcommittee that was called to address the severe flu season this year, Dr. Gottlieb revealed that early estimates suggest the new cell-culture vaccine worked 20-percent better than traditional vaccines.
Egg-based vaccines are grown in hen’s eggs. In most cases, the viruses produced this way mutate to grow in the eggs. These mutations improperly train the immune system of flu vaccine recipients. As a result, the vaccine is less effective, a problem that was seen this year.
It is believed that cell-culture vaccines do not mutate as much as egg-based vaccines. This makes cell-culture vaccines more effective because they train recipients’ immune systems to look for a more accurate version of the flu virus.
