Clinical trials of a swine flu vaccine are to be conducted on 400 Spanish children aged as young as six months.

Already selected, the group will include people up to 17-years-old. They will be tested with a vaccine developed by drug giant GlaxoSmithKline. While results won’t be known for six months, health minister Trinidad Jiménez said use of the vaccine could be authorized earlier because other countries had started trials before Spain. Pregnant women and children are particularly at risk from H1N1 which has killed 25 Spaniards. GlaxoSmithKline is carrying out a massive trial on more than 9,000 people in Europe and North America. In France, swine flu has cast a shadow over the return to school after the summer holidays. Numerous schools and classes have been closed because of the pandemic – at least one school near Paris giving its students laptop computers so that teachers can continue to distribute work.More about: France, Spain, Swine flu, Swine flu vaccine

Copyright © 2012 euronews