A swine flu vaccine could be available by November, a health official said in a report published on Wednesday.
”If things go according to plan, indications are that the new vaccine will be available in November this year, and if not, the vaccine should be available early next year,” said Frew Benson, cluster manager of communicable diseases at the Health Department.
Business Day said his statement came after a commitment by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to produce a vaccine against H1N1.
GlaxoSmithKline said it would produce up to 195-million doses of the vaccine.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed South Africa’s third swine flu death on Tuesday.
More than 1 000 cases have been recorded in South Africa so far.
Worldwide, the World Health Organisation has reported 1 462 swine flu deaths and nearly 180 000 cases in 170 countries. — Sapa