Woman, 22, is first to trial new flu vaccine

Published on Wednesday 22 July 2009 21:58

THE protection the world has been waiting for – a vaccination against deadly swine flu – is being tested on human "guinea pigs" in Australia.

With worldwide deaths topping 700, and thousands more predicted, the first person to receive the H1N1 vaccine was 22-year-old Chloe Daniels.

"It's such a big deal and people are dying from it, so I'm happy to help out," she said, as she was injected with the first dose yesterday.

Some 240 volunteers aged 18 to 64 are taking part in the trials in Adelaide. Some will receive double the normal dose to test its effectiveness, while others will be given a normal dose so the medical authorities can determine what will be the correct dosage for young children.

Some 400 young recruits, some aged just six months, will then take part in a separate trial, due to start in about six weeks.

More then 300,000 hens' eggs a day are being used to clone the virus, and the material is then processed into a vaccine.

Preliminary results are expected in September. It will then be a decision for the Australian government as to whether to launch the life-saving vaccine on the world. That could come as early as October.

The Canberra government has ordered 21 million doses.

Dr Rachel David, from vaccine makers CSL, said the Royal Adelaide Hospital trials would take about several months, but there would be enough data by September for the government to start planning distribution in October.

Dr David said one group of volunteers would get a single dose of the vaccine.

"The other group is going to receive a double dose," she said, adding that the company was not concerned about the risk of side effects.

"Three weeks after today, they're going to have their blood tested to see what sort of response, or immune response, they've had to that vaccine."