President Obama on Tuesday requested from Congress "an additional $2 billion to address the H1N1 flu strain circulating around the United States," Reuters reports. The funds would be in addition to Obama's previous request of Congress for $1.5 billion request for the purchase of antivirals, vaccine development and other preparedness equipment. In a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Obama described his request for additional funds as being "out of an abundance of caution," adding there "remains much uncertainty about the outbreak and its potential to return during the upcoming flu season in the United States" (Allen, Reuters, 6/2).

U.S. Feds Award $90M Contract to MedImmune For H1N1 Vaccine Development

U.S. health officials on Monday awarded a $90 million contract to the pharmaceutical company MedImmune “ makers of seasonal FluMist vaccine “ to develop a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, the Washington Post reports. The article explores the differences between an H1N1 vaccine developed by MedImmune to the more traditional flu vaccines made by Novartis, Sanofi Pasteur and GlaxoSmithKline “ all recently awarded H1N1 vaccine contracts, including that MedImmune's H1N1 vaccine would be administered nasally and could produce a stronger immune response to the virus (Rosenwald, Washington Post, 6/2).

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