H1N1 Vaccine Development: How was the vaccine manufactured and tested?

With H1N1 vaccine reaching the public early this month, it's good to know how this vaccine was developed and how it will protect people from H1N1 to make an educated decision on whether to get the shot or not. Three out of the five vaccine manufactures - CSL Limited, MedImmune, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi Pasteur - shipped their H1N1 vaccine last week, a few days before health officials anticipated vaccines would be sent. (GSK and CSL have yet to ship vaccine.) The H1N1 vaccine batches include a live attenuated vaccine to be given via nasal spray, and an inactivated vaccine to be given via injection. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said there will be enough vaccine for all U.S. citizens...

Vaccine Development
All five companies developed their vaccines in the same manner. H1N1 vaccine is developed no differently from regular seasonal flu vaccine, except it is a different strain of the flu, according to Gregory A. Poland, MD, MACP, FIDSA, director Mayo Vaccine Research Group and assistant editor for the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book: Fourth Edition. "What happens is the virus is isolated from humans; then adapted to grow in eggs," explained Poland. "It takes weeks to do this," he continued. "Then the eggs are inoculated, the virus is harvested and inactivated. It's then split and the vaccine is produced. It's important to note this vaccine is simply a seasonal strain change and not a new vaccine." Poland explained the seasonal flu vaccine formula changes slightly annually depending on which strains are prominent, but are developed the same way each year...

http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Co...

http://www.chop.edu/service/infectious-dis...

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/aci...