New prospects for vaccines against bird flu

The search for vaccines against bird flu seems promising when researchers claim that the new vaccine from monkey kidney cells appears to be safe and effective against the H5N1 virus.

According to AFP, Baxter International's vaccine is the first vaccine to use monkey cells instead of old eggs. This is very important because it is not easy to find the right type of chicken eggs - especially when chickens die from H5N1.

According to the New England medical journal, testing on more than 250 people showed that the vaccine helps users have a stronger immune response after two doses. This study is considered the future for flu vaccine production.

Baxter said it could produce the first dose of vaccine in 12 weeks if the pandemic broke out, much faster than the 20-28 week rate according to current traditional production methods. These tests were conducted at laboratories in Australia and Singapore.

However, some experts believe that the positive result of Baxter is still not considered a big leap for the whole industry, because Baxter is still only involved in vaccine production and has just built the foundation from the beginning. In addition, experience with antiviral vaccines shows that often the use will include reactions such as hand pain, headaches and discomfort.