NIAID Launches 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Trial in Pregnant Women

The first trial testing the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in pregnant women is being started. Pregnant women are at a higher risk for becoming infected with the influenza virus. When the H1N1 outbreak first occurred, hospitalized pregnant women infected with the H1N1 influenza virus accounted for more that four times more than the general public. The trial testing the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine will consist of approximately 120 pregnant women ages 18 to 39 who are in their second or third trimester (14-34 weeks) of pregnancy. The women will be receiving 15 or 30 micrograms of the H1N1 vaccine in a two injection series, the second injection will be administered 21 days after the initial injection. Data will be collected throughout the trial process, including blood samples that will demonstrate how the immune system is responding to the vaccine. "Cord blood will also be collected to measure maternal antibodies transferred to the infants through the placenta." It would make sense that U.S. public health officials deemed pregnant women a top priority for receiving the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine.

http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/H1N1pregnanttrials.htm