Have you had your swine flu vaccine?

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) have endorsed the federal government’s immunisation plan to offer free swine flu [1]A highly contagious and relatively common viral infection of the respiratory system, transmitted by infected droplets of moisture which may be spread through coughing and sneezing. Most people with flu recover but some go on to develop secondary infections such as pneumonia which may be fatal. pandemic vaccination to all Australians ten years and over.

The H1N109 vaccine is especially important for those with any preexisting medical condition and can be safely used by people with compromised immune systems, experts have said, including people with HIV.

Influenza vaccines can be made from live virus [2]A small infective organism which is incapable of reproducing outside a host cell. or they can be made from the harmless or killed byproducts of the virus. All of the injected H1N1 vaccines so far approved are of the killed variety.

Live vaccines, which often come in the form of nasal sprays, could pose a problem for people with poor immune systems and should be avoided.

Clinical trials are underway in the US to test the safety and effectiveness [3](Of a drug or treatment). The maximum ability of a drug or treatment to produce a result regardless of dosage. A drug passes efficacy trials if it is effective at the dose tested and against the illness for which it is prescribed. In the standard procedure, Phase II clinical trials gauge efficacy, and Phase III trials confirm it. of higher doses of the H1N1 vaccine in HIV positive women and younger people.