Is Swine Flu Vaccine Development Schedule "Immutable"?

An excellent article from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) outlines the key hurdles in developing a swine flu vaccine and quotes WHO and CDC authorities as saying that any acceleration of development is unlikely, thanks to myriad hurdles and challenges, particularly the inefficiency of producing seed strain via embryonated chicken eggs.

Frustration over egg-based technologies is nothing new to vaccine experts. "That is the real frustration, that we have been talking about this for 12, 13 years and have not yet found the will to do this better and faster," Mayo researcher Dr. Greg Poland says in the article. "And here we are in a global emergency, at phase 5 of 6. What does it take?"

Expect to be inundated with "there's got to be a better way" articles in the weeks to come. Here's one, on the University of Pittsburgh's efforts to speed vaccine development and manufacture.

--PWT