Table 1. Characteristics of influenza vaccines authorized in Canada, 2011-2012.

Product characteristics	Trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV)							LAIV
Manufacturer	Abbott	GSK	Novartis		sanofi pasteur			AstraZeneca
Product name	Influvac®	Fluviral®	Agriflu®	Fluad®	Vaxigrip®	FluZone®	Intanza®	FluMist®
Vaccine type	Inactivated - sub-unit	Inactivated - split virus	Inactivated - subunit	Inactivated - subunit	Inactivated - split virus	Inactivated - split virus	Inactivated - split virus	Live attenuated
Route of administration	IM	IM	IM	IM	IM	IM	Intradermal (ID)	Intranasal spray
Authorized ages for use	≥ 18 years	≥ 6 months	≥ 6 months	≥ 65 years	≥ 6 months	≥ 6 months	≥ 18 years	2-59 years
Antigen content (each of three strains)	15 µg HA /0.5 mL dose	15 µg HA /0.5 mL dose	15 µg HA /0.5 mL dose	15 µg HA /0.5 mL dose	15 µg HA /0.5 mL dose	15 µg HA /0.5 mL dose	9 µg HA /0.1 mL(18-59 yrs) 15 µg HA /0.1 mL (60+ yrs)	106.5-7.5 FFU of live attenuated reassortants /0.2 mL dose
Adjuvant	No	No	No	MF59 (oil-in-water emulsion)	No	No	No	No
Formats available	Single dose pre-filled syringes	5 mL multidose vial	Single dose pre-filled syringes	Single dose pre-filled syringes	5 mL multi-dose vial, single dose ampoule, single-dose pre-filled syringes	5 mL multi-dose vial, single dose ampoule, single-dose pre-filled syringes	Single dose pre-filled syringes with micro-injection system Two formulations (as above)	Prefilled single use glass sprayer
Thimerosal	No	Yes	No	No	Yes - multi-dose vials only	Yes - multi-dose vials only	No	No
Antibiotics (traces)	Gentamicin	None	Kanamycin Neomycin	Kanamycin Neomycin	Neomycin	Neomycin	Neomycin	Gentamicin
Other clinically relevant non-medicinal ingredients*	Egg protein Formaldehyde Cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide(CTAB) Polysorbate 80	Egg protein Formaldehyd Sodium deoxycholate Sucrose	Egg protein Formaldehyde Polysorbate 80 CTAB	Egg protein Formaldehyde Polysorbate 80 CTAB	Egg protein Ormaldehyde riton X-100	Egg protein Formaldehyde Triton X-100 Gelatin Sucrose	Egg protein Formaldehyde Triton X-100	Egg protein Gelatin hydrosylate Sucrose Arginine Monosodium glutamate

* consult product monograph for complete listing of non-medicinal ingredients and excipients

Abbreviations: FFU (fluorescent focus units), GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), HA (haemagglutinin), ID (intradermal), IM (intramuscular), LAIV (live attenuated influenza vaccine