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(Best Syndication News) There is good news and bad news on the swine flu front. The good news is that the flu has not mutated into something more devastating like the swine flue (Spanish Flu) pandemic of 1918, which killed over 50 million people worldwide.

The bad news is that the flu virus is still spreading and people are dying from the disease. Although people under 25 years of age get sick most often, most of the deaths occurred in people 25 to 49 years of age. It is believed that people over 65 are less likely to get sick because of their immunity due to previous exposures to similar strains.

A vaccine is on the way, but there are some complications. On Wednesday GlaxoSmithKline said that their production yields are low. The vaccine must still be tested and those tests are expected to begin in early August with studies on children soon after.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has several vaccine test centers (Network of Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units or VTEUs) around the country, mostly back east and in the Midwest.

Reports are suggesting that the drug makers are already profiting from the vaccines and antiviral drugs for the swine flu. GlaxoSmithKline has reported better-than-expected quarterly profits. Sales of their antiviral drug Relenza have jumped nearly 2,000 percent compared to last year.

Gilead Sciences Inc. stock prices are up since a mid-May slump. On Tuesday they said their profits were higher because of their royalty revenue from Roche Holding AG's sales of Tamiflu.

By Marsha Quinn

NIH’s Network of Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs).
Credit: NIAID