Carter Belfon watchs as his sister Kennedy is immunized at the the first mass H1N1 vaccination clinics open in Durham Region (Oct. 26, 2009). The World Health Organization has confirmed that only one shot will be required for all, not two for children under 10 as previously thought.
One H1N1 vaccine dose enough, experts say
October 30, 2009
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA–A group of experts at the World Health Organization has reviewed clinical data for the H1N1 vaccine and decided that one dose will be enough.
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), an independent group of the international public health agency, met Wednesday and issued three recommendations about the different H1N1 pandemic vaccines now being injected into people around the world.
Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the vaccine initiative at the WHO, said SAGE has recommended one dose is enough for people over the age of six months old.
Kieny told reporters on a teleconference from WHO headquarters in Geneva that while the vaccine is considered safe for people with immune disorders, more research is needed to know for sure if two doses might be more appropriate for that group.
Children between six months and 10 years might also need a second dose later, but SAGE recommends one dose for now if they are in a priority high-risk group.
Kieny said SAGE has also determined that both vaccines containing an adjuvant (an additive that stretches supply and boosts immunity) and those without it are safe for pregnant women.
The WHO had earlier recommended expectant mothers be able to get an adjuvant-free version of the vaccine because there was little clinical data available on its effect in pregnant women.
Canada has ordered 1.8 million doses of the adjuvant-free vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Inc., which is producing the Canadian order of 50.4 million doses of the vaccine at its plant in Ste-Foy, Que.
The federal government also announced Monday it has bought 200,000 doses of adjuvant-free vaccine from Australia, expected to be available early next week, because the Canadian version would not arrive for another few weeks.
Pregnant women are considered a high priority to be immunized because research has shown those past 20-weeks gestation are four times as likely to develop severe complications from the virus, including miscarriage.
Kieny now says clinical data and early results from the immunization campaign shows the saftey profile of the H1N1 pandemic vaccine is "very similar" to the seasonal flu vaccine and so SAGE has determined both adjuvanted and adjuvant-free versions of the vaccine are safe for pregnant women.
The last recommendation is that it is safe and effective to administer both the H1N1 vaccine and seasonal flu vaccine simultaneously.