What is the status of vaccine development?
The vaccines produced each year for seasonal influenza will not protect against a new pandemic influenza strain. Although a vaccine against the H5N1 virus is under development in several countries, no vaccine is ready for commercial production and, because the vaccine needs to closely match the pandemic virus, large-scale commercial production will not start until the new virus has emerged and a pandemic has been declared. Current global production capacity falls far short of the demand expected during a pandemic.
