"But, she added, when lab workers extracted the Fujian strain from dog kidneys and then put it into chicken eggs, it grew well. The prospect of using a virus extracted from an animal did not sit well with Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's office of vaccines research and review, who said it could pose a risk to vaccine recipients if it turned out to be contaminated.
"One really needs to know a lot about the cells that were used," she said. "They need to be qualified, characterized, to really address the different safety issues that we feel need to be addressed."
Palese disagreed, according to the transcript.
"One can make a reasonable argument" that there is a theoretical possibility that cells used in the approved vaccine could contain contaminants "and that we are perfectly happy to accept that," he said.
"We are ... not making the best vaccine decision if we don't allow the Fujian type to be part of this new formulation." Palese downplayed the possibility of contamination, calling it "a potential very, very minimal risk." "
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/12/13/sprj.flu03.vaccine/index.htmlTYY