U.S. Buys $100 Million of Bird Flu Vaccine (AP)

[Up2Late]

(Before you get too excited about this, even at best, this is enough vaccine for less than 1% of Americans. Sounds like * looking out for the wealthiest 1% of Americans again.)

Sep 16, 7:28 AM EDT

U.S. Buys $100 Million of Bird Flu Vaccine

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mass production of a new vaccine that promises to protect against bird flu is poised to begin, as the government on Thursday agreed to stockpile $100 million worth of inoculations. The new contract with French vaccine maker Sanofi-Pasteur marks a major scale-up in U.S. preparation for the possibility that the worrisome virus could spark an influenza pandemic.

While the vaccine is still experimental, preliminary results from the National Institutes of Health's first testing in people suggest the inoculations spur an immune response that would be strong enough to protect against known strains of the avian influenza, sparking the new investment. But just how many doses the $100 million will buy isn't yet clear.

That's because there is contrasting research on just how much antigen much be in each dose to provide protection, explained Sanofi spokesman Len Lavenda. The range is huge - from 15 micrograms of antigen per dose to 90 - and the protective amount likely will wind up somewhere in between, he said. Previously, the government has said it has stockpiled 2 million doses of bird flu vaccine.

Sanofi stored that vaccine in bulk, and the 2 million estimate assumed a single 15-microgram dose per person, Lavenda said. In contrast, the preliminary NIH research suggested it may take two 90-microgram shots to provide protection. Simple math suggests that means the $100 million purchase could provide enough doses to protect anywhere from 1.7 million people - "we're quite sure it's going to be a lot more than that," Lavenda said - to a maximum of 20 million people.

<http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BIRD_FLU?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>
(more at link above)

[stevedeshazer]

1. Agreed. It will go to the top 1%.

And we're getting that tiny amount from the French.

Irony noted.

[Tace]

2. You're So Right

[bonito]

3. Call me a quack. ionic silver. check it out.

[Up2Late]

4. kick n/t

:kick: