In an effort to allay growing concerns about the swine flu pandemic, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released all the stops today spread the news that one dose of a vaccine against the new H1N1 virus is likely to protect adults.
As HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said during a press conference this afternoon, the preliminary results of clinical studies that one dose triggers a strong antibody response in adults "is critical of important news. " Flanked by senior officials of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, Sebelius noted that if two doses were needed, as some had predicted, it would take more time to vaccinate the population and require more products. But she also pointed out that the data still exist on how the vaccine works in children and pregnant women, two groups that are at high risk of developing serious illness from the virus. And the time of arrival of the vaccine remains a major concern, she said.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the NIH, the first data set of adult trials sponsored by the institute. Among people aged 18 to 64 years who received one of two different H1N1 pandemic vaccines, 80% to 96% developed "robust immune response" 8 to 10 days after a single dose of 15 micrograms. Persons 65 and over do not respond as well, with only 56% to 60% to levels similar antibody. the new data grid with data reported yesterday the new England Journal of Medicine tests conducted outside the United States.
the unusual high-level press conference to discuss the preliminary results of clinical studies reflects the high level of anxiety in the country about the pandemic. the new information, Sebelius said, "shortens the window of worry and more people can be protected much earlier." It also means that the limited supply of vaccine, which will not start arriving States STATES until mid-October, can be made available to other people in other countries more quickly.
Yet many experts say it appears that the pandemic could peak in the US in mid-October, before the arrival of the vaccine. "The models are based on assumptions," said Fauci. "While it might be peaks before people get vaccinated, but there are other ways to reduce the spread." Anne Schuchat, head of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Disease respiratory, stressed that the virus appears in different communities at different times. "We believe that many opportunities for prevention will be possible with the vaccine, especially now that we have this great news that the protection might be possible in adults after this first dose, "said Schuchat.
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