Update Info : H1N1 Flu Vaccine Fast-Tracked to September?
from WebMD — a health information Web site for patients Daniel J. DeNoon July 17, 2009 — Pandemic swine flu vaccine should be fast-tracked, with vaccinations starting in mid-September — soon after schools open. That recommendation came today in a unanimous vote by the National Biodefense Safety Board (NBSB), an influential board of outside advisors to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Getting swine flu vaccine by September means skipping all but the most preliminary clinical tests of vaccine safety and effectiveness. But it means getting some 60 million to 80 million doses nearly at the same time the CDC expects the next wave of the pandemic to hit the U.S. "We cannot wait beyond mid-August [to make a decision] if vaccine is to be in supply by mid-September," the panel's pandemic influenza working group states in its recommendations. "A critical goal is to have some [standalone] novel H1N1 vaccine available by mid-September 200