Swine flu shots prove safe in early trials

They predicted that by the end of this year, nearly 200 million vaccines could be produced. Clinical trials among the adult volunteers began on Aug. 7, while among the children, the trials began a week later, i.e. on Aug. 14.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that is overseeing the drug trials said, “There are no red flags regarding safety.”

The only side-effect: swelling on arms
Dr. Fauci, in a telephone news conference with the officials of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that the only side-effects seen among the adults were the swollen arms or redness at the place they received injection (which is typical in any flu shot).

Due to these encouraging results, trials on children aged between six months and 17 years were made possible.

Experiments on another 120 pregnant women (who are among swine flu susceptible people and are high on federal government's priority list for drugs) are expected to begin early in the month of September.

The drug will be tested on approximately 4,500 people. The trials will help officials decide whether to recommend one dose or two to the patients.

Since its outbreak in the month of April this year, the pandemic influenza has not produced any surprises during its global spread, said Dr. Jay C. Butler, director of the H1N1 Vaccine Task Force at the CDC.

Young, pregnant and children among the priority list
The CDC has made plans to distribute the vaccine once it is available, and has also issued final recommendations on which groups of people should receive the drug.

According to its recommendations, the priority groups include “pregnant women, children, and young adults aged six months through 24 years, as well as persons aged 25 through 64, who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.”

The global death count due to the lethal influenza has touched the count of almost 2000, affecting more than 200,000 worldwide.

Hitting U.S. the hardest of all the countries, the novel flu strain has so far killed 522 people and caused 7,963 hospitalizations in the country, according to CDC. The virus has continued to spread, albeit at a slower speed.

Health experts expect the positive cases to surge soon as schools reopen and cold, dry weather sets in. Government has urged schools to keep the sick students out and make healthy students wash their hands regularly while covering coughs and sneezes. Also, universities have been urged to send students back home if they fall ill.

Swine flu in Turkey, not alarming for medicos
Meanwhile, health officials are not particularly alarmed by reports of H1N1 virus found among turkeys on two large commercial farms in Chile.

“It’s widespread in humans, so who cares if it’s in turkeys?” said Dr. Fauci. “That’s a Department of Agriculture issue.”

However, the virus did not kill the turkeys. It came to notice only when they stopped laying eggs and drank less water.

Though the possibility of mild pandemic flu swapping the genes with a lethal avian flu in bird hosts exists, and may jump back to people, Dr. Fauci, however, pointed out that the dangerous avian flu was circulating only in Asia and Egypt, not in South America.

“You could dream up a variety of scenarios,” he said, “but we have enough H1N1 to worry about without worrying about turkeys.”