Swine-flu vaccine provides strong immune response

The pilot study, run by the University of Leicester, reveals a strong immune response after just one dose

by S. C.

The pilot study, run by the University of Leicester and Leicester Hospitals, was trialled with 100 healthy volunteers, aged between 18 and 50.

Dr Iain Stephenson, who led the trial at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, said: “The clinical trial of Novartis MF59-adjuvanted cell-based A (H1N1) vaccine indicates that the “swine flu” vaccine elicits a strong immune response and is well-tolerated.

“The findings showed that it is possible to induce protective antibody against A(H1N1) infection within two weeks of administration of a single low-dose adjuvanted vaccine.”

The trial evaluated the tolerability and immunogenicity of the vaccine, and tested different schedules of vaccination, in terms of time between vaccinations. The vaccine schedule was one or two doses of 7.5μg MF-59 adjuvanted surface-antigen A/California/2009 vaccine derived from cell-culture.

Previous research had indicated that two doses of the vaccine would be needed against swine flu.