Vaccine Appears to Ward Off Bird Flu

Washington Post story in full

"An experimental vaccine appears to be effective against a strain of flu virus that experts fear could spark a devastating pandemic, offering the first evidence that any inoculation could provide a powerful weapon against the deadly microbe, a federal health official said yesterday.

"Two doses of the vaccine produced an immune system response potent enough to neutralize the virus in tests on 113 volunteers who were injected as part of a federally sponsored study being conducted at three U.S. universities."

Very good news, but this is not news to be over-interpreted. First, this seems to be a small test that reported anitbodies produced in response to two doses of the vaccine. It is not a demonstration of effectiveness in a population. Nor is it certain that the vaccine will be effective against the strain of the avian flu virus that will eventually emerge to threaten pandemic. And of course, vaccines don't work unless they are used to immunize people, and they don't prevent epidemics unless they are used in sufficient number of the right people at the right time. Still, this announcement means that work is progressing rapidly in a number of locations to produce what we need to avoid a pandemic!