William Schaffner, M.D., Vanderbilt University
Question: Would the vaccine still work if the swine flu virus were to mutate?
Answer: Now the question about viral mutations is one of the most frequent that I get and fortunately, we all ought to focus on the fact that this has been an extremely stable virus. The CDC and others have taken viruses from April and May and then also from the summer months, both within the United States and in the southern hemisphere, you know below the equator where they've been having their winter, and they have analyzed the virus genetically and the H1N1 virus has been extraordinarily stable. So I actually anticipate that this vaccine is going to be absolutely on target with the virus and it should be a very very effective vaccine.
I'm not too worried about mutation at this point.
