The World Health Organization has agreed to support Vietnam with influenza A (H1N1) virus vaccines, Health Deputy Minister Trinh Quan Huan said on Wednesday.

The request was made at an international meeting to combat the flu in Hong Kong last month.

In a briefing note posted on its website late last month, WHO expected to distribute the first batches of vaccines – around 300 million doses donated by countries like US and Australia – to more than 90 developing countries from next month.

It recommended that health workers are given high priority for early vaccination.

So far regulatory authorities have licensed pandemic vaccines in Australia, China and US, according to WHO, which expects Japan and several countries in Europe will also come on board.

The organization estimated worldwide production capacity for H1N1 vaccines at approximately three billion doses per year, which is inadequate for a world population of 6.8 billion people, according to the note.

Also the same day, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, a major center testing swine flu in northern Vietnam, announced it’s running out of biological reagents with 800 testing agents in stock at the moment that is just sufficient for another week.

To date, three of 14 flu testing laboratories approved by the Ministry of Health have confirmed they have run out of H1N1 reagents.

Since the disease emerged here in May, the country has recorded 9,707 positive cases, including 55 new ones on Wednesday, the ministry said, noting that over the past 15 days nine provinces and cities haven’t reported new patients.

At the moment 962 people are still under treatment while others have been discharged after full recovery.

So far the epidemic has spread to 59 out of 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam, killing 20 people, the ministry said.

Source: Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre