The World Health Organisation expects to start deliveries of donated flu vaccine to developing countries in November. The first people to be inoculated against Mexican flu, also known as swine flu, will be health care workers.

The WHO says global development of the anti-flu vaccines is going quicker than forecast and hopes more vaccine will be available than initially expected. It has also been discovered that just one inoculation, and not two as originally thought, is usually enough to give protection against the A(H1N1) virus responsible for Mexican flu.

Last month, China became the first country to launch a mass vaccination campaign. It was followed by Australia and the United States.

photo: inoculation (RIVM - Dutch National Insititute of Public Health)