Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced that the HHS will undertake a review of US government policies for vaccine development and responses to public health issues. The review will be completed early next year. The review will focus on improving vaccine production, which has most recently led to shortages of swine flu vaccine. Current technologies are considered slow and unpredictable. She highlighted the need to prioritize government-sponsored early research and market incentives for vaccine production. She noted gaps from research to production that stall the development process. One sign of change is the recent opening of a Novartis plant in North Carolina that utilizes cell-based rather than egg-based vaccine production methods. The plant received $400 million in federal funding.

Source: The Washington Post