| A spokesman of World Health Organization | | | | treatment evaluation unit at the University of |
| announced that scientists have finally created a | | | | Rochester in New York, said that when it was |
| possible effective flu vaccine. | | | | discovered that it will be needed a higher dose of |
| Clinical tests have been carried out with a flu vaccine | | | | H5N1 vaccine to stimulate the wanted immunity, than |
| made by Sanofi Pasteur. The conclusions were that | | | | a regular flu shot no one was taken by surprise, |
| there are needed two shots of the vaccine, | | | | scientists suspecting this when first testing the |
| administered four weeks apart, to immunize at least | | | | vaccine. |
| 50% of human organisms. | | | | The high-dose of bird flu vaccine stimulated a kind of |
| The director of the National Institute of Allergy and | | | | antibody response that was known to have |
| Infectious Diseases, Anthony S. Fauci declared to be | | | | protected people in 1997 during an outbreak of H5N1 |
| very enthusiastic about the new vaccine and its | | | | virus in Hong Kong. |
| immunizing properties, also saying that he considers | | | | Scientists do not know whether this vaccine will be |
| the tests to be a key step in the world's attempt to | | | | effective in case of a human to human transmission |
| stop a possible global pandemic. | | | | of the virus and they are not willing to expose any |
| Currently the US government stockpiled only four | | | | study volunteers to potentially lethal bird flu. |
| million doses of the H5N1 vaccine, but this quantity is | | | | In the process of developing much faster new bird |
| not enough to cover up all the people in case a | | | | flu vaccines, the US government is supporting the |
| pandemic starts. | | | | producers to move from growing vaccine virus in |
| A solution for stretching vaccine stores are | | | | chicken eggs, to faster cell-culture techniques. |
| administering along with the vaccine an immunity | | | | It is very important that producers accelerate the |
| boosting substance (an adjuvant), and so, this will | | | | manufacture of new vaccines, because the H5N1 |
| reduce the amount of the vaccine needed for | | | | virus is fast mutating to more aggressive forms that |
| immunizing the human body, and will improve the | | | | might cause a human pandemic. |
| vaccine's effects. | | | | One good news is the governments are considering |
| Now, there are made clinical tests with adjuvant | | | | stockpiling H5N1 vaccine and that scientists are ready |
| substances to see how the immune response to the | | | | to create new improved vaccines in case of a |
| vaccine is. | | | | development of the virus. |
| John Treanor, MD, director of the vaccine and | | | | |