The Hendra Vaccine

The Vaccine: The vaccine release has been fast tracked because the perception was that people should have the right to access protection against this deadly disease. Under normal circumstances, a new product or vaccine will take up to 5 – 7 years of testing and trials before there is sufficient data to prove to the Australian Registering authority that the product is safe and effective and consumers can have confidence in the use of the product

In this case, the public have been demanding a vaccine. Enough trials have been done to indicate firstly that the product does in fact produce a very high level of protection. Secondly, the work to date suggests that the vaccine has not been associated with any significant side effects. In this case, the registration authorities have seen fit to release a vaccine under special licensing conditions to give people the opportunity to create protection. 

There are many, many, things that are not known.

The most important unknown is the length of time that the vaccine is effective. This is completely unknown and it is a very vital piece of information because we have to know how often a booster has to be given to maintain adequate protection.