# 3523
Declan Butler, who writes for the journal Nature, and has been writing about pandemic influenza for many years, brings us the debate over the United State’s apparent reluctance to use an adjuvanted vaccine.
Adjuvants are immune boosting chemicals that have not been widely used in flu vaccines before, and are not currently licensed for use in the United States.
While no one really knows how much antigen could be spared by using adjuvants, it is believed that the savings could be sizable.
This from Nature. Follow the link to read the article in its entirety.
Regulators face tough flu-jab choices
Rich countries' pandemic strategies may cause vaccine shortages elsewhere.
A fistful of vaccines: but will there be enough to go round?G. Baker/AP
Imminent decisions on a strategy for H1N1 pandemic flu vaccination in the United States could leave other countries short of vital doses if it elects not to follow World Health Organization (WHO) advice on vaccine formulation.
The United States is the biggest buyer among a group of rich countries whose combined orders for vaccine against the H1N1 2009 virus could potentially tie up most of the world's pandemic vaccine production capacity for 6 months or longer, so depriving other countries of vaccine.
To counter this prospect, the WHO recommended on 13 July that countries use shots that contain adjuvants, chemicals that boost the immune system's response to a vaccine. This allows smaller amounts of antigen — the molecule that stimulates the immune response — to be used in each dose, boosting the overall amount of vaccine available from existing production capacity and allowing orders to be filled more quickly.
The United States' global responsibility to consider dose-sparing strategies is briefly alluded to in the minutes of a mid-June US National Biodefense Science Board meeting, released on 17 July: "Federal decision-making will affect not only the 300 million Americans who depend on the government to support the public health system but also people all around the world."
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