UK Vaccine Trial Starts

The UK's first swine flu vaccine trial is under way in Leicester.

Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) has enrolled 175 people for the tests, which involves giving two doses of the vaccine, then checking immunity levels.

The results of the trial, which will also establish how far apart the doses of vaccine must be given, should be ready in four to six weeks.

The government is currently considering plans to immunise every schoolchild in the UK against swine flu.

The trial, led by Dr Iain Stephenson, a consultant in infectious diseases at the LRI and a clinical senior lecturer at Leicester University, started two weeks ago and involves Leicester residents.

“We can't be complacent about this, we have to continue planning, we have to be ready for what happens in the autumn ”
Sir Liam Donaldson Chief Medical Officer

The first swine flu vaccines are expected to be licensed for use in the general population in September.

Ministers have repeatedly said they expect to have enough doses for half the UK population by the end of the year, but advisors were still finalising plans on who would be first to get the injection.

New government figures released on Thursday show the numbers of people being diagnosed with swine flu dropped from 110,000 to 30,000 over the last seven days, but there have been nine new virus-related deaths in the past week.

'Second wave'

The total swine flu-related deaths in England now stands at 36.

Infection rates were expected to drop in the summer before a large leap in the autumn to coincide with the annual flu season.

England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson said it was very difficult to predict when a second wave would hit.

"It's guesswork really - we would anticipate that when the schools go back, at some point after that it would rise.

"We can't be complacent about this, we have to continue planning, we have to be ready for what happens in the autumn."

The Health Protection Agency said there was no sign that the virus was mutating into a more lethal form, or developing resistance to drugs.