Pregnant women need only one dose of vaccine to protect them from H1N1, according to government data released Monday that confirm what officials have been recommending.
Federally funded studies also affirmed that children 9 and younger will need two doses of vaccine to produce a strong enough response by their immune systems to protect them against the virus, officials said.
The findings came as an independent panel of experts organized by the Health and Human Services Department to monitor the safety of the vaccine met for the first time to review the data. "No safety concerns have arisen," said Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which has been leading the government's efforts to test the vaccine.
The government has begun an unprecedented campaign to inoculate millions of Americans against H1N1, which is circulating in nearly all states. The program, however, has gotten off to a slower start than officials had hoped, with only about 30 million doses available, causing frustration and anxiety as long lines have formed at clinics nationwide.
92 percent showed a response
In the new results, an analysis of blood samples from 50 pregnant women in their second or third trimesters taken 21 days after they received a 15-microgram dose of vaccine found that 92 percent experienced a sufficient response to assume they would be protected. Although 96 percent of those who received a 30-microgram dose experienced a similarly strong response, officials concluded that the 15-microgram dose being used as a standard was sufficient.
"This should be reassuring news for those women who have already received the vaccine, and it is vital information for those women who have not been vaccinated," Fauci said.
Previous results showed that most other adults also need only one shot.