PAEDIATRICIANS at Oxford Children’s Hospital are looking for 250 children, including babies, to take part in a swine flu vaccine trial.

They are planning to enrol children aged six months to 12 years for trials of two different vaccines due to be used this winter.

Scientists say the study will be crucial in determining which vaccine offers the best protection, with the number and severity of cases expected to increase with the onset of autumn.

Prof Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Centre, said: “Children are one of the age groups most vulnerable to swine flu infection. It’s vital we obtain information on their response to these vaccines.”

He said he was confident parents would come forward in sufficient numbers.

One of the aims of the study will be to establish which vaccines cause the least side-effects in children.

Children who take part would receive two doses of a swine flu vaccine three weeks apart at Oxford Children’s Hospital’s outpatients department.

A blood test would also be taken before and after the immunisations to check their response to the vaccines.

Oxford is one of five English cities selected for the trial, funded by the NHS National Institute for Health Research.

Trials will also be carried out in Exeter, Bristol, Southampton and London, with a total of 1,000 children involved.

The trial will be entirely voluntary, with families given detailed briefings about the potential benefits and risks.

Prof Pollard said he would start speaking to families interested in taking part this weekend.

He said he expected ‘significant numbers’ of parents to come forward because of concern about the spread and severity of swine flu as winter approaches.

He added: “There is little doubt from the information that has come out so far that this vaccine will generate an immune response which will be protective.”

He said that while no medical intervention could be absolutely risk-free, similar seasonal flu vaccines were already given to thousands of people every year in the UK.

He said the study would enable researchers to determine if one vaccine was better tolerated by children and which best protected them from swine flu.

Millions of doses of two swine flu vaccines have been purchased by the Department of Health to control the expected outbreak this autumn, but information about their use in children is limited.

The study in Oxford is being conducted by the University of Oxford and the Health Protection Agency.

Parents interested in enrolling their child in the study should visit www.swineflutrial.org