TAIPEI: Department of Health (DOH) chief Yaung Chih-liang, yesterday hailed the mid-term results of human clinical testing of the locally produced H1N1 vaccine. The vaccine is produced by Adimmune Corp, Taiwan's sole human vaccine manufacturer.

Fielding questions in the Legislative Yuan at a meeting of the legislature's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee about the vaccine, Yaung said the Adimmune vaccine is in no way inferior to an H1N1 vaccine marketed by the Swiss-based pharmaceutical firm Novartis.

Stressing that the initial results have been good, Yaung said, however, that the final results will be made public in two days, after related data has been collated by a DOH pharmaceutical screening committee.

According to Kang Chao-chou, chief of the DOH's Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs, the screening committee was scheduled to meet the following day (today) to review the mid-term results. The relevant data will be published after being confirmed by the committee and conclusions will be submitted to the Centers for Disease Control for reference.

A complete report on the efficacy and safety of the Adimmune vaccine is expected to be available in mid-November, Kang said.

Meanwhile, Ho Mei-shiang, head of Adimmune's R&D department, told reporters that the immunity effect of the swine flu vaccine is marvelous, as had been expected, and she urged the public not to worry about ill-effects.

According to Ho, the immunity effect of foreign-made H1N1 vaccines can reach 70 percent, while the mid-term results of the Adimmune vaccine's adult clinical trials show that the local vaccine will not be any lower than that.

Meanwhile, health authorities reported yesterday that a 54-year-old man with underlying conditions has died from influenza A (H1N1), the 25th person in Taiwan to die from the virus.

The patient, a resident of Keelung City, had suffered from hepatitis and kidney disease, according to the Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC).

CECC statistics showed that there were seven more patients hospitalized with the H1N1 flu strain than a day earlier, including four children between seven months and seven years old.

The total number of such cases since the outbreak began has reached 395.

While 25 of the patients remained in the hospital, 345 had recovered and been discharged, the CECC said.

The Centers for Disease Control under the Department of Health (DOH) recently warned that a second wave of the H1N1 outbreak is emerging in Taiwan and is likely to peak in November, after the previous wave peaked in early September.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 10/22/2009 page2)