Currently available flu vaccines only protect against the currently circulating ordinary flu. The virus causing a pandemic will be so different from the strains in the vaccine that they are very unlikely to provide any significant immunity in a pandemic situation. New vaccine must be developed to match the new pandemic strain. Can any vaccine left from previous years be used? No. It will only provide protection against old strains of influenza virus, not against a new strain.

There is not a flu vaccine (also know as a flu shot) against the current avian flu (H5N1) commercially available at this time. However, vaccines are produced each year for seasonal flu ("the flu") that may prevent the flu or lessen symptoms. University Health Services (UHS) schedules "flu shot clinics" during the fall. For more information please see, Flu Shot Update.

The flu virus can change from year to year, and the protection you get from a flu vaccine declines over time. That's why you need a flu vaccination once a year, every year. The best time to get vaccinated is in October or November, at the start of the flu season. However, since flu season often does not peak until December or later, you can still benefit from getting the flu vaccine after November.

There is no vaccine for humans against avian flu. The vaccine against human influenza virus does not protect against avian flu.

Vaccines against the H5N1 avian flu currently occurring in SE Asia are under development. These are not the same as a pandemic vaccine ? if a pandemic were to emerge from this virus the virus may have changed to such an extent that this vaccine may not be appropriate.

Currently, there is not a widely-available method for forecasting the effectiveness of this season's influenza vaccine. Although, during the seasonal influenza season in the United States, the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) conducts population-based surveillance for febrile respiratory illness (FRI) at US military basic training centers. These data are used to estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE) against laboratory-confirmed influenza infection at the end of the season.

Influenza vaccine cannot prevent avian influenza as the vaccine was meant for human influenza. However, the vaccine can help reduce the chance of complications and hospitalization from human influenza; hence it is recommended for the elderly and patients with chronic illnesses. Influenza vaccine can also reduce the chance of genetic re-assortment and subsequent emergence of influenza strain with pandemic potential.

The Department of Health's policy promotes vaccination for all children against Measles Mumps and Rubella. The NHS offers the triple MMR vaccine, therefore we offer a course of single mono component vaccines i.e. Measles, Mumps and Rubella to protect both your child and other children from these diseases. To not offer all three would lessen overall immunity (herd immunity) in the population and endanger children that have an immune system that does not function properly.

There is no vaccine ready to protect against pandemic flu.The virus that causes pandemic flu will be new and a vaccine to protect againstit cannot be made until the virus has been identified. Before a pandemic startsit is difficult, if not impossible, to predict what strain will cause it andeven then, predictions may prove wrong, or the predicted virus may have changedenough for a pre-prepared vaccine to be ineffective.

A vaccine has been developed for anthrax that is protective against invasive disease, but it is currently only recommended for high-risk populations. CDC and academic partners are continuing to support the development of the next generation of anthrax vaccines.

Large amounts of vaccine cannot be made before knowing exactly which virus is causing a pandemic. Production of a new vaccine takes approximately six months.

Vietnam is currently testing the vaccine on humans. The United States government is getting ready to test the avian influenza vaccine.

Your doctor might recommend an antibiotic for bacterial infections caused by the flu, but antibiotics won't kill the flu itself - because flu is caused by a virus. Some anti-viral drugs can reduce the length of time you have the flu, but they don't cure it. A few of these drugs have been approved for preventing the flu, but the flu vaccine is usually the best choice. While it is FDA-approved, Tamiflu, an oral anti-viral drug is not approved for use in children under age 18.

Influenza vaccines are designed to protect against a specific virus, so a pandemic vaccine cannot be produced until a new pandemic influenza virus emerges and is identified. Even after a pandemic influenza virus has been identified, it could take at least 6 months to develop, test and produce vaccine.