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China: Cheap H1N1 vaccine

China: Cheap H1N1 vaccine

Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac will start selling a swine flu vaccine that works with just one dose. The Chinese vaccine costs 30% cheaper than those of Western companies, announced the head of Sinovac.

Western pharmaceutical companies such as Baxter, Novartis or GlaxoSmithKline have produced vaccines against H1N1, which must be taken in at least two doses to be effective.

In Europe, France and Britain have received the first doses of vaccines against swine flu, but the distribution license will only be granted in October.

The debate over vaccines comes at a time when the H1N1 virus has emerged in a more severe form that immediately affects the lungs.