H1N1 pandemic vaccine trials at full speed
H1N1 pandemic vaccine trials at full speed
Eight VTEU sites doing research
Bracing for a fall resurgence of the H1N1 influenza A pandemic, scientists at eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are conducting a series of clinical trials to test the newly developed vaccine.
The research studies are recruiting thousands of healthy volunteers nationally to test the safety and measure the body's immune response to an investigational H1N1 flu vaccine. They will include adult, pediatric and elderly volunteers.
Eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs) which are funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH, are participating in the trials. The VTEU sites include Saint Louis University; Baylor College of Medicine; Emory University; University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore; Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati; Group Health Cooperative in Seattle; University of Iowa; and Vanderbilt University. They will be joined by Duke University Medical Center and Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
"Efforts to find an effective vaccine against H1N1 influenza are historic," says Sharon Frey, MD, professor of infectious diseases at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and lead investigator for one of the national research studies. "Scientists very quickly identified the flu virus, industry rapidly responded by making vaccine and multiple clinical trials to test vaccine are ramping up. Researchers are pouring a tremendous amount of effort and resources into delivering a safe and effective vaccine to the American public as quickly as possible."
Frey's team is studying whether an experimental H1N1 influenza vaccine — which is not formulated to protect against the traditional seasonal flu — can be given with the seasonal influenza vaccine. The studies will analyze potential problems of giving the vaccines together, such as whether one vaccine will undermine the protective power of the other.
VTEU researchers are also comparing the immune response to different numbers of doses and different strengths of the H1N1 flu vaccine to see which is more effective. NIAID-funded investigators are currently studying giving the common seasonal flu vaccine to pregnant women to get some baseline data for future comparisons they can use as they research giving the H1N1 vaccine to pregnant women.
The H1N1 vaccine research is also expected to include children. Pregnant women and those individuals who have underlying illnesses of the kidneys, liver, heart and lungs (including asthma) will face the biggest health danger from the 2009 H1N1 influenza.
Bracing for a fall resurgence of the H1N1 influenza A pandemic, scientists at eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are conducting a series of clinical trials to test the newly developed vaccine.Subscribe Now for Access
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