UPDATE 1-WHO experts say flu vaccines safe, one dose needed
* WHO vaccine experts: H1N1 shots as safe as seasonal jabs
* Teenagers, young adults most susceptible to swine flu
* Flu death rate 2-9 pct of those hospitalised (Adds WHO expert quotes, details, background)
GENEVA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Only one dose of vaccine is needed for protection against pandemic H1N1 flu and the jabs have so far proved to be safe, the World Health Organisation said on Friday.
Health experts have been debating whether one or two shots are necessary to protect against H1N1, known as swine flu. The number of doses required is key to estimating how many vaccines are needed in total.
The WHO has repeatedly sought to reassure people around the world that the H1N1 vaccines being made by 25 different companies, with various formulations, are safe. [ID:nN16123963]
"All the reports received to date following vaccination -- either in clinical trials or in mass vaccination campaigns -- have shown that the safety profile of these pandemic vaccines is good and is very similar to the one which is known for seasonal influenza vaccine," said WHO expert Marie-Paule Kieny.
"Nothing special in terms of adverse events has been noted," Kieny, who heads the U.N. health agency's vaccine research, told journalists on a telephone conference.
SAFE, SINGLE DOSE
Earlier this week, its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) examined vaccines for H1N1, which tends to affect teenagers and young adults most.
A statement from the Geneva-based WHO said the SAGE experts had found no signs of unusual "adverse events" -- the technical terms for severe complications such as illness or death -- from pandemic vaccines.
As a result, they said pregnant women, who are particularly vulnerable to H1N1, should be given the pandemic vaccines.
At least 5,712 people have died from confirmed cases of H1N1, WHO said in an update.
The SAGE committee recommended that a single dose of H1N1 vaccine should be used for adults and adolescents from age 10. Continued...
