First vaccine shots, the ones for babies and children, will not be safety tested

On Friday, the National Biodefense Science Board met in emergency session to work on issues surrounding the H1N1 flu pandemic. They reviewed the report of their working group, "H1N1 COUNTERMEASURES STRATEGY AND DECISION-MAKING: A REPORT" [HERE], in order to provide input on it before it is sent to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices who makes final recommendations to Kathleen Sebelius on what the response to the outbreak should be.

They are working off of several key assumptions:

Novel H1N1 viruses will continue to circulate.

A second wave is likely to occur, as soon as fall 2009. Best estimates suggest that infection rates will be 2‐3 times higher than expected with seasonal influenza. The second wave could peak in October, but we must anticipate onset as early as September.

Attack rates will continue to be highest in children and young adults.

Hospitalizations and deaths will continue to be concentrated among children and younger adults with underlying medical conditions.

Children will continue to act as an amplifier to community spread of the virus.

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