WASHINGTON - Independent health advisers will begin monitoring the safety of the H1N1 flu vaccine today, an extra step that the government promised in this year's unprecedented program to watch for possible side effects.
Dr. Marie McCormick of the Harvard School of Public Health is chairwoman of the special working group whose task is to raise a red flag if members feel federal health officials miss anything.
"Given the rapidity with which this particular vaccine was rolled out, there seems to be an extra-special obligation to make sure things remain as uncomplicated as they have in the past," McCormick said.
McCormick's group will begin its work today by reviewing data from early studies of the vaccine in more than 10,000 people, some conducted by the government and others by manufacturers.
ASSOCIATED PRESS