U.S. Orders 2 Million Doses of Avian Flu Vaccine
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a contract to Aventis Pasteur Inc. to make and store two million doses of avian influenza H5N1 vaccine, it was announced Tuesday.
The vaccine is designed to counter the H5N1 influenza virus that has killed 29 people in Vietnam and Thailand so far this year.
The $13 million contract is meant to ensure that the United States is prepared for a pandemic of this form of avian influenza virus. The vaccine would be used to protect laboratory staffers, public health workers and, if needed, the general public, according to a HHS news release.
From drkoop.com