H1N1 Flu Vaccine Won't Arrive Until Mid-October

Even as White House attempts to speed up production and distribution of an H1N1 flu vaccine Dr. Thomas Frieden the new head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the vaccine won't be ready until mid-October.

"We wish we had new vaccine technology that would allow us to turn on a dime and make new vaccine in terms of weeks or months. It's not possible with today's technology to do that," he said.

Five companies are making swine flu vaccine for the U.S. market -- AstraZeneca's MedImmune unit, CSL Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Novartis AG and Sanofi-Aventis SA.

References:

1. No flu vaccines before mid-October, CDC predicts, Reuters

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu), CDC