All Nature’s pandemic flu coverage is collected on our news special page. These regular updates on The Great Beyond round up the latest from other news sources around the globe.

With no adverse effects detected of swine flu jabs in adults, the US National Institutes of Health kicked off its testing of H1N1 vaccines for children this week.

The first results from two adult trials launched on 7 August will be available in mid-September, but thus far the only complaints stem from redness and bruising at the injection site, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a press briefing today. “There are no red flags regarding safety.”

The adult trials — which are testing two concentrations and two doses — will be fully enrolled by the end of the day, said Fauci, and health officials started signing up children aged from 6 months to 17 years on Wednesday. Testing on pregnant women will begin early next month, and vaccine trials involving adjuvants, which boost the body’s immune response to the shot, will be launched in mid- to late-September. The trials will include a combined total of around 4,500 patients.

Full vaccine deployment will follow the trials. Between 45 and 52 million doses will be rolled out by mid-October, and then weekly shipments will provide a total of 195 million doses by year’s end, said Jay Butler, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s H1N1 vaccine task force.

As a testament to the popularity of enrollment, Jesse Goodman, chief scientist and deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, noted that his own son was turned away because no more participants were needed.