| ■ One swine flu shot enough for pregnant women, two for kids | 2009.11.07 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A single dose of swine flu vaccine produces a robust immune response in pregnant women, but young children need two shots, US clinical trials have shown. Twenty-one days after they were given the swine flu vaccine, 92 percent of pregnant women who received a single 15-microgram dose and 96 percent of expectant mothers who were given one, 30-microgram dose showed a robust immune response, showed the initial results of the trials, which are still ongoing. The findings of the trials back up recommendations made last week by the World Health Organization (WHO), that "adults -- including pregnant women -- and adolescents, beginning at 10 years old" be given a single swine flu shot. Separate tests conducted in the United States have shown that children aged six months to 35 months and three to nine years should have two doses of the H1N1 vaccination, Fauci told reporters Monday. "Those younger groups didn't have a good immune response eight to 10 days after receiving the first dose, and 21 days after that first dose, their response was still suboptimal -- 25 percent for the very young group and 55 percent for the intermediary group," Fauci told reporters. |