Flu Vaccine Questions

By , in Flu Vaccine.

Flu Vaccine Questions

The results of a government funded studies shows that a large dose of a vaccine called avian influenza vaccine, supplied by Sanofi-aventis are needed to provide a protection against the flu virus. To test the effectiveness of this vaccine 54% of the volunteers agreed to receive 90 micrograms of the shot, twice 28 days apart.

Based on the studies, the US government’s current stock of vaccine is sufficient to provide enough for only 4 million people. This shortage of vaccine isn’t the only matter of concern. Another issue that is coming up is the matter of production.

Flu vaccines are produced using hen’s eggs. Using a 50 years old technology the eggs are automatically injected then begins an 11 day waiting period when the eggs are left to incubate. This leads to brewing of viruses that are later killed and bottled. It takes around a period of 6 months to produce a million of these viruses.

The most important question that arises once we go through the process of making the vaccine is that, if we are using chicken eggs to incubate H5N1 virus, how do we know that H5N1 virus will not kill the eggs? We know that H5N1 virus kills chicken, how can we rule out the possibility that it kills the chicken eggs too?

Sanofi –Aventis is spending $150 million of its own money to build a vaccine making plant based on the belief that H5N1 virus does not kill chicken eggs. But another question that arises is, where does Sanofi-Aventis hope to find such a large number of eggs laying chicken? Millions of chicken are slaughtered all over the US and all over the world reducing their number drastically.

Apart from this there is also another technology that is relatively new. It is called cell based vaccines. Giant vats of living cells, such as dog kidney cell are multiplied and are then administered with the virus. Although there are two companies, one in Holland and the other in Germany who are already manufacturing, but the FDA must review the entire method before any equipment can be imported to the US.

It is clear that US isn’t prepared to fight against the H5N1 virus that causes avian influenza. We seem to have waited too long to find a vaccine to fight this dreadful virus.

It is a very dangerous virus that is spreading quickly and widely.

If you have been hoping to get a vaccine shot to stand protected against this virus, then let me warn you that you may not be entirely safe. There are still a lot of unanswered question and uncertainties surrounded with the entire process of manufacturing the vaccines.