| Flu
vaccines are commonplace in many countries, but these vaccines
are developed for the specific strain of flu that is expected
to be prevalent during that flu season. A flu vaccine can
only be developed for a known strain of the virus. Since
it is not possible to know how the flu virus will mutate,
it is also not possible to develop a vaccine in advance
of the appearance of the disease. It is believed that it
may take six to nine months to develop a vaccine if and
when a new strain emerges.
Measures
are being taken to increase the capacity of vaccine production
to prepare for the event that a new vaccine must be mass-produced
as quickly as possible. The CDC (Center for Disease Control)
states that the US government is taking steps to stockpile
enough Tamiflu to treat 25% of the US population, and has
also funded scientific research into expediting the process
of developing a vaccine when a new strain is identified.
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