Pharma firms start work on H1N1 vaccine

China has announced that it would stockpile the H1N1 flu vaccine for 1 percent of the population by Oct 1, even as the 10 designated Chinese vaccine producers are getting busy with development and clinical trials.

The stockpile of 13 million injections will be used as a preventive measure to counter any sudden outbreak of the flu, Liang Wannian, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's contingency office, said.

He said the flu vaccine would be chiefly targeted at high-risk groups -- people with prevalent illnesses and pregnant women.