Flu vaccine delivery imminent
Source: Agencies |
August 7, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DRUG makers are on track to start delivering the first batches of swine flu vaccine in September, the World Health Organization said yesterday.
Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO's vaccine director, said several pharmaceutical firms have started testing swine flu vaccine in humans, and that early safety results should be available next month, clearing the way for its use. Kieny also insisted that speeding the vaccine to the market will not compromise its safety.
WHO has recommended the first recipients of the vaccine be health care workers, perhaps followed by pregnant women and people with underlying health problems.
Kieny said WHO expects to see reports of side effects once the vaccine is given to millions of people, but that deadly side effects will be rare. Vaccines commonly provoke reactions such as nausea, fever, pain from the injection, and diarrhea.
She said the agency would work with country officials to detect any sign the vaccine might cause more worrying side effects, like Guillain Barre syndrome, a temporary paralysis disorder reported by hundreds of people after the US's disastrous 1976 immunization campaign against another variant of swine flu.
To fight the current pandemic , or global outbreak, half a dozen major pharmaceutical companies located in the United States, Europe and Australia are developing their own swine flu vaccines, which will have to be approved by drug regulatory authorities in each country where they are used.
It's the first time that firms have rushed to produce a vaccine within months to fight a flu pandemic. Health officials expect swine flu to surge in the fall, with the return of the regular flu season.
Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO's vaccine director, said several pharmaceutical firms have started testing swine flu vaccine in humans, and that early safety results should be available next month, clearing the way for its use. Kieny also insisted that speeding the vaccine to the market will not compromise its safety.
WHO has recommended the first recipients of the vaccine be health care workers, perhaps followed by pregnant women and people with underlying health problems.
Kieny said WHO expects to see reports of side effects once the vaccine is given to millions of people, but that deadly side effects will be rare. Vaccines commonly provoke reactions such as nausea, fever, pain from the injection, and diarrhea.
She said the agency would work with country officials to detect any sign the vaccine might cause more worrying side effects, like Guillain Barre syndrome, a temporary paralysis disorder reported by hundreds of people after the US's disastrous 1976 immunization campaign against another variant of swine flu.
To fight the current pandemic , or global outbreak, half a dozen major pharmaceutical companies located in the United States, Europe and Australia are developing their own swine flu vaccines, which will have to be approved by drug regulatory authorities in each country where they are used.
It's the first time that firms have rushed to produce a vaccine within months to fight a flu pandemic. Health officials expect swine flu to surge in the fall, with the return of the regular flu season.
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