H1N1 vaccine found safe after trial

Dr Prasad Kulkarni, in-charge of the clinical trial for the HINI vaccine told The Indian Express that the first part of the Phase II and III trial has been completed. “The vaccine has been found to be ‘safe’ and there are no serious side effects. We are now analysing the data prior to the phase III of the trial,” Kulkarni said. The vaccine will be priced at Rs 150 per unit and will be available in a syringe and delivered by a pump like mechanism atop the syringe.

A total of 330 people of three age groups ¿ paediatric,adult and elderly had been enrolled for the trial at various sites in Pune,Ahmedabad,Kolkata,Indore and Bangalore. The indigenous vaccine,in the form of an inhalation mix,was administered to each nostril in doses of 2.5 ml. The virus is alive but weakened. It produces immunity but does not cause the disease. “The immunological tests were carried out by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and Serum Institute,” Kulkarni said.

This has generated a lot of excitement at the Serum Institute where the intranasal swine flu vaccine was developed after nearly five months of research.

In Maharashtra,there have been a total of 7100 cases of HINI virus and 462 deaths. “Nearly 50 per cent of the cases are from Pune which has also registered 234 deaths,” says Dr Pradeep Awate,State Surveillance Officer. While the number of deaths has decreased from 18 per week to 2-3,there is the risk of transmission at various districts.Health officials are dismayed at the poor response to the imported vaccine so far. According to Dr V K Rokde,Assistant Director of health,a total of 34,300 doses were sent for Maharashtra and only 372 from the medical community in Pune have taken the vaccine. Mumbai,which received 2000 doses,has not found any takers while in places like Dhule,Nanded,Chandrapur very few doses have been administered.