Swine Flu Vaccine Timeline

Swine Flu Vaccine Timeline

• June 4 - the CDC has provided a candidate vaccine virus to several laboratories and manufacturers so that they can produce pilot lots of swine flu vaccines that can be tested to make sure they are safe and effective.
  
  
• June 12 - Novartis, a Swiss drug maker, which makes the Fluvirin flu vaccine for seasonal flu, has announced that they have produced their first batch of swine flu vaccine. This is still an experimental vaccine though, that needs to complete clinical trials to make sure it is safe and effective before it can be further produced for everyone to use.
  
  
• June 26 - although 115 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine is usually used each year, it is estimated that up to 600 million doses of swine flu (H1N1) vaccine may be needed in the fall, since most people will need two doses. Only about 60 million doses will likely be ready by September though.
  
  
• July 9 - the US government will spend about $7.5 billion if a swine flu vaccination program is thought to be necessary in the fall, in addition to the billion dollars already spent on bulk ingredients for the swine flu vaccines being developed.
  
  
• July 13 - the WHO has endorsed new recommendations about swine flu vaccination, including that health-care workers should be vaccinated as a first priority and that countries should next follow a step-wise approach to vaccinate other groups as swine flu vaccine becomes available, including pregnant women; those aged above 6 months with one of several chronic medical conditions; healthy young adults of 15 to 49 years of age; healthy children; healthy adults of 50 to 64 years of age; and healthy adults of 65 years of age and above.
  
  
• July 22 - the first human trials for a swine flu vaccine in the United States are expected to start soon.
  
  
• August 18 - the Department of Health and Human Services reports that a delay in swine flu vaccine development will mean that only about 45 million doses of vaccine will be ready by October 15. Another 20 million doses will be then be ready each week, with about 195 million doses ready by the end of December.
  
  
• August 18 - pediatric trials for a swine flu vaccine are set to begin following reports that there were no safety concerns in adult trials.
  
  
• September 2 - pediatricians who are interested in providing the H1N1 swine flu vaccine to their patients should begin to preregister with their state/jurisdiction contact. They will be shipped in mid-October via a centralized distribution program from private suppliers. Doctors will not be able to order them directly from the vaccine manufacturers.
  
  
• September 15 - the FDA has approved the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine and it is on track for delivery in October. It will be available as an injection with and without the preservative thimerosal, and as a nasal spray.
  
  
• September 18 - the CDC states that 3.4 million doses of the nasal spray form of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine will be available in the first week of October.
  
  
• September 21 - young children who are nine years old or younger will likely need two doses of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine at least twenty-one days apart to get the best protection against the swine flu.
  
  
• October 6 - the first doses of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine are arriving at doctor's offices and clinics, although they will be in a very limited supply at first.
  
  
• October 16 - the CDC reports that almost 6 million doses of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine have been shipped to doctors and clinics, which is well behind schedule.
  
  
• October 28 - about 23 million doses of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine has now been allocated and ready for doctors and clinics to order.
  
  
• October 30 - the World Heath Organization's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization reports that 'experts reviewed early results from the monitoring of people who have received pandemic vaccines and found no indication of unusual adverse reactions' and that reported side effects are 'well within the range of those seen with seasonal vaccines, which have an excellent safety profile.'
  
  
• November 6 - almost 36 million doses of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine has now been allocated and ready for doctors and clinics to order.
  
  
• December 11 - over 76 million doses of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine have now been shipped to doctors and clinics across the United States.
  
  
• December 15 - About 800,000 doses of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine have been recalled in a non-safety related H1N1 recall because of problems with the potency of the vaccine.
  
  
• December 22 - About 4.7 million doses of the FluMist nasal spray version of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine have been recalled in a non-safety related H1N1 recall because of problems with the potency of the vaccine.
  
  
• January 10 - This week is National Influenza Vaccination Week, 'a national observance to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination beyond the holiday season.'
  
  
• February 18 - The WHO has recommended that the 2009 H1N1 swine flu virus be included in next year's seasonal flu shot.
  
  
• March 30 - The CDC 'continues to encourage vaccination at this time for all persons 6 months of age and older' because of 'ongoing, persistent 2009 H1N1 activity in the United States.'
  
  

_Source:

CDC. H1N1 Clinicians Questions and Answers. Recommendations for the 2009 H1N1 Vaccine. Accessed October 2009.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/clinicians_qa.htm

CDC. Use of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine. Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2009. Accessed September 2009.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr58e0821a1.htm

PandemicFlu.gov. Draft Guidance on Allocating and Targeting Pandemic Influenza Vaccine. Accessed April 2009.
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/vaccine/prioritization.html

Plotkin: Vaccines, 5th ed.

Sencer, David J. Reflections on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Vol. 12, No. 1, January 2006.

WHO. Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 briefing note 2. Accessed July 2009.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/h1n1_vaccine_20090713/en/index.html

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