Are there vaccines for pandemic flus?
Bird Flu (H5N1): Yes. On April 17, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the first vaccine to prevent human infection with one type of the avian influenza (bird flu) H5N1 virus. The vaccine, produced by Sanofi Pasteur, Inc., has been purchased by the federal government for the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile. It will be distributed by public-health officials if needed. Other H5N1 vaccines are being developed by other companies against different H5N1 strains.. Other Pandemics: A vaccine can only be formulated once a pandemic is identified, and then it generally takes six months to produce the vaccine. The U.S. government is making efforts to increase manufacturers ability to produce vaccines, and research is also underway to develop new ways to produce vaccines more quickly.
