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Age restriction lifted on egg-free flu vaccine

MERIDEN–A unique weapon for flu season is now available to many more people. Meriden-based Protein Sciences announced that its flu vaccine, Flublock, is n...

MERIDEN--A unique weapon for flu season is now available to many more people.

Meriden-based Protein Sciences announced that its flu vaccine, Flublock, is now available to everyone 18 years and older. When the vaccine came on the market last year, the FDA limited injections to just 18 to 49 year olds.  The agency has lifted the restriction on people 50-plus.

Flublock is the only egg-free flu vaccine on the market, so now older recipients, who are allergic to eggs, can get vaccinated.

"You don't have to be allergic, and one could just say, hey, if it's good for people with allergies, it's probably also good for us," Manon Cox, the CEO of Protein Sciences, said.

Protein Sciences makes Flublock using the genetic code of the virus instead of from live virus.

The company is now using the same technology to try to develop a vaccine for Ebola.

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