Scientists seek to stretch supply

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists will begin testing in January whether they can stretch the nation's limited supply of an experimental bird flu vaccine by pairing it with an immune-system booster.
Research with a different vaccine suggests that approach may work, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health's infectious disease chief, told a Senate panel Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., also said lawmakers should pass legislation by Thanksgiving to fund the nation's preparations for a possible worldwide outbreak of bird flu or some other super-influenza strain.
That timetable has important implications: President Bush has proposed stockpiling enough of the anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza for 81 million people. The nation has only enough doses for 4.3 million people in stock, and can't order more until Congress approves the money for it, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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