Is there a vaccine available for pandemic influenza?

There is currently no vaccine available to protect humans against the H5N1 avian influenza, a virus that commonly affects birds and has been transmitted to humans in a number of countries, primarily within Asia. However, vaccine development efforts are under way. Research studies to test a vaccine to protect humans against H5N1 virus began in April 2005. The influenza vaccine for the 2005-06 season does not provide protection against avian influenza. One of the challenges in developing a vaccine for a potential pandemic is that the precise antigenic properties of a nascent pandemic strain cannot be predicted, so available vaccines may be poorly antigenically matched to the pandemic virus. Unvaccinated workers involved in HPAI outbreak response activities or those involved with research utilizing HPAI should receive the current season’s influenza vaccine to reduce the possibility of dual infection with avian and human influenza viruses. There is a small possibility that dual infection ...  more