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Organisation (WHO) has reassured that a swine flu vaccine will be available, even as fresh cases of the flu are being detected every day. A number of pharmaceutical companies in the US, Europe and Australia are well on their way to testing the vaccine on humans. The first recipients of the vaccine, it has been reported, will be health workers, children and pregnant women, groups most at risk in the pandemic.
Concerns of deadly side effects of the vaccine have been temporarily brushed aside by WHO vaccine director Marie-Paule Kieny, who has said in press briefings that if at all, the effects will not be more worrying than nausea, fever and diarrhea. Two shots of the vaccine are likely to be required for protection against the disease, experts predict. The team will, however, watch out for signs of any serious side effects, such as the kind of temporary paralysis disorder that was the result of a 1976 immunisation campaign in the US against another variant of swine flu.
In India, however, an indigenous vaccine will take four to seven months to complete. Three leading manufacturers in the country - Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech - who have received the seed strain are said to have made significant progress in developing the vaccine. The Serum Institute of India is reportedly collaborating with WHO to develop a vaccine for seasonal flu as well. The vaccine in India, however, is being manufactured in limited quantities due to a lack of facilities, which can only be expanded if there is an assured market for the vaccine. Drug makers are also awaiting increased government support, which could be in the form of purchase commitment, or a grant. While in India to date 700 confirmed cases of swine flu and one death have been reported, it is unclear the amount of vaccine we will require in the coming months.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis in Switzerland and CSL, Australia are busy with clinical trials and plan to start selling their products from next month even before passing extensive safety tests, thanks to fast track approvals. Advance contracts from developed nations have already booked leading manufacturers' stock, while WHO works to ensure a share of it is made available to developing countries as well.
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