Drugs and vaccines against the global swine flu outbreak need to be available to poor countries, the head of the United Nations told top health officials Tuesday as they discussed delays in creating a vaccine.
"We must remain vigilant," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference at the World Health Organization's annual meeting in Geneva.
"We may be in a grace period with H1N1 but we are still in the danger zone."
Ban and the WHO director general Dr. Margaret Chan met with representatives from 30 pharmaceutical companies to discuss the creation of a vaccine for the new virus that has infected nearly 10,000 people worldwide.
Drug manufacturers have not yet been told to produce a vaccine specifically for swine flu.
If a pandemic is declared, Chan said some drug companies have pledged to either donate vaccine or reserve production for poor countries. The vaccines would also be available at lower prices for poor countries, but no agreements have been signed.
Some experts have questioned whether a vaccine is needed given the illnesses have appeared mild so far, noting mass production coul
