Australian mass "H1N1 Swine Flu" vaccination programme to start end September
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Australian mass "swine flu" vaccination programme to start end September
Sydney : Australia on Friday approved as safe and effective the nation's first swine flu vaccine, clearing the way for a mass adult immunisation programme later this month.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the country's drug regulator had determined, after "exhaustive evaluation", that the single-dose A(H1N1) vaccine was highly safe and had few side effects in adults.
"This decision now paves the way for a national vaccination programme to start later this month," Roxon said.
Australia had commissioned 21 million doses from vaccine-maker CSL,(H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Manufacturer CSL "Listed Guillian-Barre Syndrome as vaccine side effect")and four million were already on standby in the nation's major cities to be distributed to doctors and other health specialists starting next week, she said.
A national programme, which would be free and voluntary for all adults, would start on September 30. Roxon said it would be the "biggest vaccination programme that Australia has run."
Frontline health workers, pregnant women, indigenous people and those with underlying health conditions, such as asthma, cancer, diabetes, HIV and heart disease, would be targeted in the first stage of the immunisation.
Once child trials of the vaccine were complete, target groups including special-needs students and babies aged six months or younger would be vaccinated, Roxon said.
Since the pandemic started, the deaths of 172 Australians have been linked to swine flu, Roxon said, with thousands of hospitalisations across the country and more than 3,500 deaths worldwide.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the country's drug regulator had determined, after "exhaustive evaluation", that the single-dose A(H1N1) vaccine was highly safe and had few side effects in adults.
"This decision now paves the way for a national vaccination programme to start later this month," Roxon said.
Australia had commissioned 21 million doses from vaccine-maker CSL,(H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Manufacturer CSL "Listed Guillian-Barre Syndrome as vaccine side effect")and four million were already on standby in the nation's major cities to be distributed to doctors and other health specialists starting next week, she said.
A national programme, which would be free and voluntary for all adults, would start on September 30. Roxon said it would be the "biggest vaccination programme that Australia has run."
Frontline health workers, pregnant women, indigenous people and those with underlying health conditions, such as asthma, cancer, diabetes, HIV and heart disease, would be targeted in the first stage of the immunisation.
Once child trials of the vaccine were complete, target groups including special-needs students and babies aged six months or younger would be vaccinated, Roxon said.
Since the pandemic started, the deaths of 172 Australians have been linked to swine flu, Roxon said, with thousands of hospitalisations across the country and more than 3,500 deaths worldwide.
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