2010 Expo H1N1 Vaccine on the way

The seventh Annual Conference of Shanghai Association for Science and Technology (SAST) and the forth Shanghai Engineer Forum was held yesterday in Shanghai.

Professor Xiong Sidong, head of Immunobiology Research Institute of Fudan University, said that the H1N1 vaccine for the Shanghai Expo was on the way.

Professor Xiong said that it is uncertain whether the swine influenza activity would continue increasing or not next year. Xiong explained that the H1N1 flu hasn’t bottomed out compared to season flu. The influenza, which began from spring, will get to the lowest point once it encounters the summer. The transmission power will be reduced greatly even disappear.

China was leading the struggle against the H1N1 flu, he said. China has successfully produced the safe and reliable H1N1 vaccine. Xiong said that 13 to 15 million people would receive the flu shot this year for free as the government would pay for that.

Vaccination for 2010 Expo has been on the way, Xiong expressed, but there were some other factors need to be considered. Strictly speaking, at least 60% of the Expo workers should take the vaccination, and if not it would bring an outbreak of H1N1 flu during the 2010 Shanghai Expo, Xiong said. The workers, who need to contact a large number of visitors, are especially required to take the vaccine.

The Shanghai World Expo will face an even greater challenge. That is how to avoid the cross-infection of HIN1 flu between the visitors. Professor Xiong expressed that the solution has been under discussion.