Should we stretch limited stockpiles of pandemic flu vaccines?

Flu :: Should we stretch limited stockpiles of pandemic flu vaccines?

To prepare for the next flu pandemic, many countries are stockpiling potential vaccines. These are likely to be sub-optimal (i.e. not match the emerging pandemic viral strain) and sure to be in short supply.

In a new study in the international open-access journal PLoS Medicine, Steven Riley and colleagues from Hong Kong University, ask the tough question of what to do to make the most of such limited vaccine stockpiles. Their provocative study suggests that, under many possible scenarios, it might be beneficial to spread the vaccine thinly, i.e. give a lower than optimal dose to more people.

In an accompanying Perspective article discussing the study and its limitations, Christophe Fraser of Imperial College London concludes that the study brings forward a new and interesting concept that deserves wider discussion in the public domain

Citation: Riley S, Wu JT, Leung GM (2007) Optimizing the dose of prepandemic influenza vaccines to reduce the infection attack rate. PLoS Med 4(6): e218.