# 1873
Japan is among a handful of nations (including the United States, Denmark, Taiwan, and Switzerland) that have invested in a pre-pandemic bird flu vaccine. These vaccines are based on an earlier clade of the H5N1 virus, and no one knows how effective they will be against a mutated virus.
The hope is these vaccines will afford some level of protection to the recipients. Perhaps not enough to avoid infection, but hopefully, enough to lessen the severity of the illness.
The problem with stockpiling a pre-pandemic vaccine is that it has a limited shelf life. At some point you literally have to use them, or lose them.
Japan will reportedly test the safety of their vaccine by administering it to 6,000 medical workers, sometime before the end of March 2009. This will mark the first time such a large number of people will have received a pre-pandemic vaccine.
Should this test prove successful, and the vaccine proven safe, Japan will consider administering the rest of their 10 million doses to essential personnel.
Countries that have invested heavily in a pre-pandemic vaccine will no doubt be watching this test closely, as they will be faced with a use it or lose it decision in the next couple of years.
Japan to vaccinate medical workers for bird flu
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan plans to vaccinate 6,000 medical workers and quarantine officers with stockpiled bird flu vaccines to check their effectiveness and possible side-effects, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
The plan, which follows suggestions made by some lawmakers and experts that vaccinations take place before a feared flu pandemic, will be submitted to a panel of experts for approval on Wednesday, an official said.
If approved, vaccination will take place before the end of the fiscal year in March 2009, and mark the first case in the world in which the vaccines -- based on strains of the H5N1 virus from China and Indonesia -- have been given to such a large group of people prior to a possible pandemic.
Japan has stockpiled vaccines for 10 million people using strains of the H5N1 virus from China, Indonesia and Vietnam. So far the government's stance has been to use them only after a breakout.
If the first vaccination is deemed effective, the ministry will consider vaccinating an additional 10 million people, mainly those involved in maintaining social infrastructure such as gas and electricity networks, the official said.
