(May 7, 2009 - Insidermedicine) From Geneva - According to the World Health Organization, 1 to 2 billion doses of vaccine could be produced to combat H1N1 "swine" flu. The current world capacity for vaccine production is about 900 million doses per year, but WHO policy advisers are considering whether to ask vaccine producers to increase production. There are now 1,893 confirmed cases of H1N1 in 23 countries.

From Florida - According to a study presented to the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, high hopes may lead patients to give up on therapy when expected results are not achieved. In a study of 82 patients with age-related macular degeneration, researchers found that 24 decided to interrupt therapy. Meanwhile, 14 of the patients had actually shown improvement in visual acuity.

And finally, from Atlanta - According to research in the New England Journal of Medicine, an increasing number of parents are refusing to have their children inoculated. The study found that the rate of exemptions for non-medical reasons, namely religious, philosophical or other personal beliefs, rose from 0.98% in 1991 to 1.48% in 2004. In one Washington state county the rate spiked to nearly 27%.

For Insidermedicine in 60, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.