LONDON, ENGLAND (AFP) - Three H1N1 flu vaccines authorised for use in the EU should still be taken in two doses, although a single injection could be enough for two of them, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) said Friday.

The EMEA's committee for medicinal products for human use has reiterated recommendations from September that the three vaccines - Celvapan, Focetria and Pandemrix - should be taken as two doses at least three weeks apart.

But according to the limited data available so far, one dose for Pandemrix and Focetria may be enough.

Celvapan is made by US drugmaker Baxte, Focetria by Novartis of Switzerland and Pandemrix by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline.

The World Health Organisation said Friday nearly 5,000 people have died from H1N1 flu infections since the A(H1N1) virus was detected in April.

Many European Union member states are now starting vaccination programmes as winter approaches in the northern hemisphere.