FDA tests bird-flu vaccine effectiveness

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the country's first bird flu vaccine is less successful than formerly thought. After trials, the two shot vaccine seemed to help only 45 percent of adults who had the largest dose of the SA vaccine. A previous test, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2006, suggested that the vaccine worked in 56 percent of the patients. The FDA released the new results prior to a meeting where a panel of experts from outside the organization will review the vaccination, which is the first for the H1N1 strain to try to get the FDA's approval. The study showed that the vaccine would be safe, but it is unclear if it is effective. The original study used interim results; however the more recent study used final data. The more recent study had tougher standards. The effectiveness of the vaccine was "measured by the antibodies patients developed against the flu strain." According to the World Health Organization, 167 people worlwide have been killed by the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Health experts worry that the virus could mutate into a form that could spread easily between people. I found this article interesting because bird flu was discussed in class. A vaccine for bird flu would be a good preventitive measure for a potential mutation.