WHO Chief: Safe Swine Flu Vaccine Still 'Several Month's Away (NVAX, BCRX, HEB, more)

As reported in the UK's Guardian paper yesterday, the World Health Organization's director general, Margaret Chan, has said that a vaccine for the now worldwide H1N1 flu virus is "several months" away -- contrary to what the U.K. government has been reporting.

Chan said, "There's no vaccine. One should be available soon, in August. But having a vaccine available is not the same as having a vaccine that has proven safe. Clinical trial data will not be available for another two to three months."

The comments come as global cases of swine flu have jumped over 10,000, with the death toll now approaching 450. Eerily, WHO officials have made it clear that "all countries" are going to need vaccines for the contagious flu strain as the pandemic is now "unstoppable". England's Chief Medical Officer, Liam Donaldson, has also said that the virus will likely be around for up to five years.

Below are some stocks that have been moving on the pandemic news, and their price performance since the end of April, when reports of swine flu first emerged:

• Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) - up 240%
  
• BioCryst Pharma (Nasdaq: BCRX) - up 126%
  
• Hemispherx BioPharma (AMEX: HEB) - up 335%. Notably, shares of Hemispherx has been one of the most heavily tracked swine flu-related stocks. Hemispherx shares are actually down more than 50% since the stock hit a new 52-week high of $4.54 on June 4.
  
• Human Genome Sciences (Nasdaq: HGSI) - up 142%
  
• AVI BioPharma (Nasdaq: AVII) - up 110%

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