NYT 9/22/09 In Vaccine Additive, Benefit and Doubt

There isn't enough of the H1N1 vaccine for everyone in the world. Right now the wealthy countries are the ones that will get the vaccine and a small amount or 10% of the U.S. vaccines are being sold to other countries. So there is a debate on whether to use adjuvants to the vaccine which would increase the potency and the amount of vaccine available because people would need less. However, the adjuvants haven't been proven to be safe, there is currently nothing negative found against it but there could be unknown risks. Other countries have opted to use the adjuvants to increase supply but the U.S. is opting to refrain from it until it has been proven to be safe and effective. The negative consequence of using it could be that people will be wary of an unknown substance and would refuse to get vaccinated. So there is some pressure on the U.S. to use the adjuvant but for the moment it will not be used to keep people interested in getting the vaccine and to make sure that it works.