Immunology: Safer from the Flu

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Of the millions of persons who have taken flu shots, fully one-third have paid for their protection with such discomforting side effects as chills, fever and minor infections. Last week Government scientists announced the development of a new flu vaccine that causes reactions in less than 6% of those inoculated.

The new vaccine, tested on over 1,200 flu sufferers by the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company of Indianapolis, is now being marketed under the trade name Zonomune. It was developed by Lilly in cooperation with scientists at the Atomic Energy Commission and the National Institutes of Health. Using a modified high-speed centrifuge, a research team headed by Dr. Norman G. Anderson of the AEC's Oak Ridge National Laboratory was able to remove 95% of the vaccine impurities that have caused side effects in the past. The Lilly Co. has bought three of the $40,000, 32,000-r.p.m. K-2 centrifuges from the AEC, last month began producing the new vaccine for use during next fall's pre-influenza season.