WHO to discuss flu vaccines

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-07-2009 09:03

The World Health Organization says it has called a meeting of flu experts next week to discuss whether drug companies should switch their production from regular flu vaccine to pandemic vaccine.

A researcher works on a vaccine for H1N1 flu virus at the Infectious Disease Labratory at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia May 6, 2009.  REUTERS/Tami Chappell

The Director of WHO's Initiative for Vaccine Research, Doctor Marie-Paule Kieny, said the group of experts will hold a teleconference May 14th to assess the case for switching production.

Vaccine producers can only make one kind of flu vaccine at a time either a seasonal flu vaccine or a pandemic vaccine.

Experts are still unsure how deadly the A/H1N1 flu strain is. But a decision needs to be made soon as production takes months.

The WHO has to guess whether the world will need pandemic vaccine more than it needs regular flu vaccine.

Seasonal flu kills up to 500-thousand people a year, giving WHO a strong reason to hesitate.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei