The European Union’s executive commission says it has approved single doses of two swine flu vaccines that could speed up winter vaccinations.
The European Commission’s authorization of single shots of Novartis AG’ Focetria and GlaxoSmithKline’s Pandemrix replaces the use of two doses of the vaccine against the H1N1 virus for adults and older children.
Older people over the age of 60 must be vaccinated with two doses of Focetria but can be treated with one dose of Pandemrix.
EU spokesman Tom van Lierop said regulators were still assessing the safety of a single shot of a third vaccine, Celvapan, made by Baxter.
Some 5 million people in Europe have already been vaccinated against the flu this winter.
