FDA approves first bird flu vaccine
Government has been stockpiling Sanofi Pasteur’s vaccine for some time, but now it can be distributed without signed consent; concerns remain about efficacy
Good news on the avian flu front. The Food and Drug Administration this week announced that it has approved Sanofi Pasteur’s avian flu vaccine — the first ever so approved, despite the fact that its effectiveness is generally believed to be limited. Of course, the government has already been stockpiling the drug, but the FDA decision means that it is no longer considered experimental and could be dispersed, if neccesary, without an informed consent signature. (It will not be sold in stores, and the rules for pandemic distribution are still under review.) Yet even those who take it may not benefit: only 45 percent of them will be protected, and even that requires two injections twenty-eight days apart. (Seasonal flu shots typically protect more than 90 percent of young, healthy adults.) “Ideally, yes, you would like a vaccine that would have a higher efficacy,” said the FDA’s Norman Baylor. “At this point, this is where we are.”
