Feds study swine-flu vaccine dose for asthmatics

CLEVELAND (AP) — The federal government has begun a study of how much swine flu vaccine to give to people with asthma.

Asthma sufferers are considered a group at higher risk of complications from swine flu, but medication taken by many asthmatics may interfere with the vaccine. Dr. Serpil Erzurum, the study coordinator at the Cleveland Clinic, says the goal is to find the right dosage for them.

Doctors vaccinated the clinic’s first participant in the research on Monday.

The study also is being conducted at Emory University in Atlanta; the University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute; the University of Virginia; the University of Wisconsin; Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Washington University in St. Louis.