Emory Tests H1N1 Vaccine on Kids

ATLANTA -- Seven-year-old Nina Strudwick and her sister Hannah have had flu vaccines before. This time, they're making history.

At Emory University, the sisters have volunteered to serve as guinea pigs in the war against the swine flu.

"I'm not particularly concerned about their safety in terms of whether the vaccine will harm them," said Amanda Strudwick, the girl's mother. "I'm probably more concerned about how much the shot hurts."

The two sisters are among 600 children and young adults nationwide who are getting an early shot at the swine flu vaccine. The H1N1 vaccine will not be available to the public until mid-October.

Tests on the vaccine started on older adults two-and-a-half weeks ago.

"It may be even more important to do these studies in children," said Emory Dr. Mark Mulligan. "Children are affected more often and with more serious consequences."

Blood work will help determine any potential side effects and just how many shots are needed.

"We anticipate that most children will probably need two vaccines," said Emory Doctor Harry Keyserling. "Obviously we don't know the answer until we have the data from the studies."

Some children under the age of ten may need an additional two vaccines to guard against the seasonal flu.

Doctors admit, they're under a time crunch. They want as much information as possible before the vaccine is made available to the public in October, but the tests will likely go on until November.

They're also getting information on clinical trials that started in Australia in July.

"We think much of the important results, particularly from the adult studies, will be available at the time recommendations need to be made," said Keyserling.

Nine-year-old Hannah Strudwick was clearly nervous about a needle to the arm, but enthusiastic about her contribution.

"It's fun to help out with research," said Hannah. "I love to help out in science. Science is wonderful."

Doctors say the tests on adults have had positive results, with none of the volunteers reporting no drastic side effects.