TheEuropean Comissionyesterday gave the green light to the commercialization offirst two vaccines against the H1N1 virus, causing theflu a. Is aboutFocetria, from the pharmaceutical company Novartis, andPanderixby Glaxo-Smith-Kline. A third vaccine, from the pharmaceutical company Baxter, is being analyzed by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
The approval of the antidotes allows their circulation in the 27 countries that make up the EU, as well as in the European Economic Area, including Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In this way, it is expected that, before the start of the winter flu season, a sufficient number of vaccines will be available to reduce the risks of disease and death among European citizens.
The two vaccines had been developed in 2005 to address a possiblepandemic. In principle they had beenengineered with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus. However, after the identification of H1N1, they restructured to be able to fight the new H1N1 virus. The EMEA recommended last week that approved vaccines be administered intwo doses, with an interval of three weeks between each injection. In addition, it has been approved for use in adults, including pregnant women, and in children over six months. However, the agency acknowledged that initial data “suggest that a single-dose vaccine might be sufficient for adults”, allowing twice as many people to be vaccinated.
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