FEDS OK NEW FLU FIGHTER!
THE FDA has approved the first new flu drug in 20 years!
The medication, Xofluza, is a one-dose pill for patients aged 12 and older — but patients must have symptoms for no more than 48 hours.
Studies showed Xofluza cut the amount of time people were sick from 3.3 days to 2.5 days. It also reduced the length of a fever from 42 hours to one day.
But the FDA warns the drug is not a substitute for the flu vaccine, which is the best chance of protection.
Last year, 80,000 Americans died of the flu and its complications —the highest death toll in at least four decades.
After last year’s increased demand of Tamiflu, “this novel drug provides an important, additional treatment option,” says
FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb.