Synthetic Flu Vaccine Approved
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new synthetic flu vaccine called Flublok.
The new vaccine is grown in caterpillar cells rather than chicken eggs, which will substantially increase the supply of the vaccine.
The new technique will allow the vaccine to be ready weeks before October, which is when the vaccine is typically available.
"Well, I think there is clearly a need, not just for this season, but because we understand that there's a risk that new flu viruses which could potentially be even much more severe than this year may come out of birds or other sources around the world and be prepared for those. We have to be ready to make vaccines fast to respond to these emerging viruses when they occur," said Dr. John Treanor, Chief of Infectious Diseases, University of Rochester Medical Center.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the new vaccine is just as safe and effective as the conventional vaccines in protecting people against the flu virus.
Dr. Treanor says that he expects the vaccine to become available in the fall of 2013.