UMD Doctor: Swine Flu Vaccine Benefits Outweigh Risks

(Baltimore, MD) — Clinical trials for a swine flu vaccine start next month at the University of Maryland Medical Center. But is the quick development of a vaccine safe? During a swine flu scare in 1976, President Ford ordered every man, woman and child to receive a vaccine. Hundreds developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, and some died. But UMD Medical Center’s Dr. Karen Kotloff calls the vaccine reaction “a fluke”, doesn’t think history will repeat itself. She says scientists are developing a vaccine based on the same model they use to make the regular, seasonal vaccine. Dr. Kotloff also believes the benefits of a vaccine far outweigh any risks. One-thousand people, including children, will roll up their sleeves during the clinical trial in Baltimore in August. A vaccine could roll out by mid-October.

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