Rushing To Make A Swine Flu Vaccine LONDON (Associated Press) - The race is on among drugmakers to produce a swine flu vaccine, now that the World Health Organization has declared a pandemic.

GlaxoSmithKline says it will be ready within weeks to begin large-scale vaccine production. Sanofi-Aventis also says it has started working on its own version. Today, Swiss pharma giant Novartis announced it has created an experimental vaccine using cell-based technology. But it has not been tested in people.

Many rich countries like Britain, Canada and France signed contracts with pharmaceuticals long ago, guaranteeing them access to pandemic vaccine. But the likely scramble for vaccines will leave many people in poorer countries empty-handed.

WHO says 74 countries have reported nearly 30,000 cases including 145 deaths. But so far, the virus appears to be mild. Most people don't need medical treatment to get better.

But the virus might have a more devastating effect in people with underlying health problems.
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