A representative from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced Tuesday early trials of an H1N1 vaccine "did not show immediate safety concerns for adults," paving the way for the vaccine to be tested in children, CQ HealthBeat reports. Two clinical trials, each with "650 children between the ages of six months and 17 years old," will test the vaccine. "One trial will test the dosage of the H1N1 vaccine and the other will test whether the vaccine can be administered at the same time as the seasonal flu vaccine, according to NIAID," the news service writes (Kim, 8/18).

Roche Recommends Countries Extend Tamiflu Shelf-Life; India Attemps To Negotiate Lower Prices On Tamiflu

In related news, the WHO on Tuesday said "it was up to national regulatory authorities to decide whether to extend the shelf life of the flu drug Tamiflu by two years, as recommended by Swiss drug maker Roche," Reuters reports (Nebehay, 8/18). The Associated Press adds: "Authorities including the World Health Organization have decided to extend the medicine's shelf life by two years to fight the swine flu pandemic. It should preserve the stockpiles of the drug that governments started to build up five years ago in response to an outbreak of bird flu" (8/18).

The Financial Express reports that sources in India's health ministry say the government is in talks with Roche to purchase Tamiflu at a reduced price (Das, 8/19).

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