Paediatricians at Bristol Childrens
Vaccine Centre are looking for 170 children to take part in a study
of the two swine flu vaccines due to be used in the UK this winter.
The study will enrol children aged 6 months to 12 years from the
end of September. It will be conducted by University Hospitals
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, in
collaboration with the University of Oxford, the Health Protection
Agency, the University of Southampton Wellcome Trust Clinical
Research Facility, St. Georges Vaccine Institute in London and the
Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust.
By conducting this study, researchers hope to determine if one
of the vaccines is better tolerated or more likely to protect
against swine flu than the other in this age group.
The study is being led in Bristol by Professor Adam Finn, who
emphasised its importance, saying: Children are one of the age
groups most vulnerable to swine flu infection, so it is vital that
we obtain information on their response to these vaccines. This
study will help in decisions about which vaccine will be best for
protecting children.
Millions of doses of two swine flu vaccines have been purchased
for use in the UK by the Department of Health to protect the public
and control the expected outbreak this autumn. However information
about their use in children is limited.
Children who are in at-risk groups will be prioritised for
vaccine, which is why its important to see which of the vaccines
offers the best protection.
The study is being funded by the National Institute for Health
Research and has been adopted by the Medicines for Children
Research Network.
Children who take part in the study would receive two doses of a
swine flu vaccine three weeks apart at the outpatients department
of the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. A blood test would be
taken (using a local anaesthetic cream) before and after the
immunisation course to check their response to the
vaccines.
Parents interested in enrolling their child in this study should
visit the www.swineflutrial.org
website or call 0117 342 0699 for further information.
