US says H1N1 vaccine might come too late for flu season
Updated
The US is bracing itself for a nasty outbreak of swine flu once the flu season hits.
It's estimated 100 million people could get the H1N1 virus during the northern winter and government officials are warning there are still gaps in the nation's planning. The Americans have been working closely with Australian officials but one scientist says the race for a vaccine could come too late for the US.
Presenter: Lisa Millar, North America correspondent,
Speakers: Bernice Steinhardt, US Government Accountability Office; William Corr, US deputy health secretary; Ira Longini, Flu expert from the University of Washington's School of Public Health
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LISA MILLAR: When five high school interns on Capitol Hill were diagnosed with swine flu this week, Congress took a personal interest.
BENNIE THOMPSON: Part of our dilemma as members of congress is we've been involved with, in contact with potentially some of the people and we have no knowledge of it other than reading it in the paper.
LISA MILLAR: Democrat Bennie Thompson was chairing a hearing on how prepared America is for the pandemic that's about to hit.
Bernice Steinhardt from the Government Accountability Office says more needs to be done.
BERNICE STEINHARDT: When we started a pandemic was a possibility. Today it's a reality.
As our work suggests there are still significant gaps and we should be addressing them now while time is still on our side.
LISA MILLAR: With millions of children heading back to school in a month there's a rush to get a new vaccine trialled and enough of it produced.
The Deputy Health Secretary William Corr says they've turned to Australia for advice but he's concerned the US could end up with an inefficient vaccine if the virus mutates.
WILLIAM CORR: We're tracking it as carefully as we can to understand whether that is happening. So far it doesn't appear that it is but we won't have a final conclusion until we get farther into the southern hemisphere's flu season.
LISA MILLAR: Flu expert professor Ira Longini from the University of Washington's School of Public Health predicts it won't be long before America starts seeing a surge in numbers.
IRA LONGINI: So we should see you know substantial transmission. I would guess you know 30 to 40 per cent of the population becoming ill during the flu season.
LISA MILLAR: That's around 100 million people unless huge amounts of a successful vaccine can be distributed.
IRA LONGINI: We know that vaccine won't be available until mid-September and then there'll be batches coming in you know over the next four or five months. It's really a race between the virus and the vaccine.
LISA MILLAR: Vaccine advisors meeting in Atlanta today agreed healthcare workers, pregnant women, young children and people with medical problems like asthma and diabetes should be vaccinated first.
The US Government has agreed to buy 200 million doses in total as it tries not to alarm the public but make them aware of the magnitude of what might lie ahead.
