The European drugs regulator has given the go-ahead for one of the UK's swine flu vaccines².

欧洲药品监管人对一种英国猪流感疫苗给予放行信号。

Swine flu vaccines are being tested in thousands of volunteers

An expert committee agreed that Pandemrix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, can be used in adults and children over six months old and pregnant women.

The decision removes one of the last obstacles to getting the immunisation programme under way although licensing³ still needs to be formalised.

The UK has bought 60 million doses of the vaccine¹.

In addition, there are contracts for an as yet unapproved vaccine, Celvapan, produced by Baxter.

It means the UK has provision（准备，供应） for up to 132 million doses - enough for every person in the country.

A vaccine made by Novartis, Focetria, has also been recommended for licensing by the European Medicines Agency - but this is not planned to be used in the UK.

Final marketing⁴ authorisation for the vaccines still needs to be signed off by the European Commission and is expected "as soon as possible".

The EMEA said they were working with Baxter on some ongoing⁵ issues about their vaccine but hoped to be able to resolve（解决，化解） those next week.

The vaccines have undergone an accelerated approval process as "mock-ups" of the vaccine had already been developed in preparation for a pandemic and tested in 6,000 people.

Manufacturers have worked quickly to add the swine flu H1N1 strain to the mock（假的，伪造的） versions.

Early trial data had suggested good immune responses with just one dose of the vaccines.

However, the EMEA is recommending two doses are given three weeks apart for both vaccines, but may revisit that decision as more clinical trials are carried out.

Rising cases

The number of new cases of swine flu in England has almost doubled over the last seven days to 9,000, official figures show.

In Scotland, the new weekly figures showed a slight increase from 6,180 to 7,034.

Across the UK there have been 82 deaths.

Although the figures are rising, they are as yet far short of the 100,000 cases a week seen in July.

Officials are still predicting a second wave of swine flu as winter approaches.

But they hope to begin a vaccination⁶ programme sometime next month.

High-risk individuals and front-line NHS staff have been prioritised（优化） for the vaccine.

Those eligible⁷（有资格的，合格的） include anyone aged⁸ between six months and 65 years who usually gets the seasonal⁹ flu jab because of a chronic¹⁰ illness（慢性病） such as asthma¹¹（哮喘）, pregnant women, and people who live with those whose immune systems are compromised（妥协，折衷）, such as cancer patients or people with HIV/AIDS.

It will also be offered initially¹² to people aged 65 who are at high-risk of complications because of an underlying¹³ illness.

A further decision on who else may be vaccinated¹⁴ once these groups have been targeted is yet to be made.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "This is a welcome step forward in our plans for tackling swine flu - but we are still dependant¹⁵ on production and delivery of sufficient vaccine to start protecting people.

"We plan to start vaccination in October, subject to vaccine being licensed¹⁶ and manufacturers' delivery schedules.

"This is not the Department of Health's schedule - it is led by the manufacturers."

Professor Steve Field, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said practices needed to prepare to call in the high-risk groups for vaccination.

"The scientists are saying it should be targeted at high-risk groups because the illness is mild but my understanding is that is being reviewed regularly.

"My hunch¹⁷（预感） is it will be rolled out to more people."