PUBLIC ADVISED TO GET NEW VACCINE INJECTION EACH YEAR

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- Immunisation system specialist Prof Dr Che
Ilina Che Ishak has suggested that the public get a new vaccine formula
injection for seasonal flu each year.

Dr Che Ilina, who is with UKM Medical Centre's Medical Microbiology and
Immunology Department, said the formula for the vaccine would always change,
depending on the new virus that spread as the old antibidy would not be able to
fight it.

UKM is National University of Malaysia (Malay: Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia) is a public university located in Bangi, Selangor which is about 35 km
south of Kuala Lumpur.

She said a new virus was expected to emerge with the second wave of
Influenza A(H1N1), but at the moment Malaysia was still safe from it.

"We have not had any new H1N1 case for more than a month now. However, this
is the holiday season with many tourist arrivals, so we have to be careful," she
told reporters at a workshop with the media on the H1N1 vaccine, here, Monday.

She said although the government had ordered 400,000 doses of the vaccine to
be given to the high-risk groups, the private sector could also obtain the
vaccine with the government's assistance.

"Besides these groups, children also require the vaccine as their immunity
have not matured. These are children from the age of six months to five years
old," she added.

-- BERNAMA