Good News … Maybe…

New Bird Flu Vaccine Is 100 Percent Effective in Animal Tests
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer

Pennsylvania researchers have produced a bird flu vaccine made from a genetically engineered human cold virus and shown that it protected 100 percent of vaccinated mice and chickens.

While production of a conventional flu vaccine requires months of work and large numbers of fertilized chicken eggs, the researchers reported Thursday that they prepared their vaccine in only 36 days, growing it in a laboratory dish.

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This is genuinely good news, and a huge step forward in vaccine research. But before we pop the Champaign corks and declare victory over the flu virus, we need to examine this story a little closer.

First, it has only been tested on a limited number of mice and chickens. Human trials haven’t even been started.

Second, the use of a common cold virus as a vector is problematic. Some people may be immune to this virus, and therefore the vaccine may not work

Third, production in a lab dish is not the same as gearing up to produce enough vaccine for the entire country, or for the world.

Fourth, this vaccine, like any vaccine, may have side effects. In 1976 the Swine Flu vaccine was abruptly retracted when a number of recipients died.

Fifth, if the vaccine is not widely available before a pandemic begins, then the distribution of it, and the vaccination of the public becomes very problematic. How many people will go stand in long lines to receive a shot if an epidemic is underway? Most vaccines require a couple of weeks to provide immunity.

I applaud the researchers at this university, and genuinely hope their new vaccine proves to be as effective as early studies indicate. But there is a big gap between growing an experimental vaccine in a lab dish, and actually inoculating 300 million Americans.

This is a step forward. But it is a long way from having a cure.