drugs Tamiflu and Relenza should not be thought of as swine influenza vaccines

The latest news from the WHO is that the vaccine which is being developed in a number of laboratories worldwide is not progressing as fast as scientists hoped and therefore the production of the swine influenza vaccine is unlikely to start until the middle of July at the very earliest. Part of the problem is that the seed stock required for the manufacture of the swine flu vaccine was taking longer than previously estimated.

The World Health Organisation had originally said that they could get this seed stock to manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies to start to develop a vaccine by the end of May however this is unlikely to materialise. On the other hand the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that they reckon they would be able to have their own H1N1 influenza virus seed stock ready by the end of May. When pharmaceutical companies and scientists get the seed stock it should take them between 4 and 6 months to produce a vaccine.

The drugs Tamiflu and Relenza should not be thought of as swine influenza vaccines because they do not prevent you from developing the H1N1 flu virus. All they can do is protect you from the harmful and dangerous symptoms of this influenza virus but they won’t stop you from getting it in the first place. When a proper vaccine has been developed you will be able to get an H1N1 swine influenza jab which should keep you from getting the illness even if you are exposed to it.

Influenza viruses are fascinating because of the way that they mutate and change so rapidly and in the way that they can spread around the world so quickly. In these days of modern travel where tens of thousands of people jump on airplanes everyday contagious influenza viruses can spread around the world in a matter of days. Ukmedix News is looking forward to the day when the vaccine is made available to the public in the United Kingdom.