Vaccine makers may get H1N1 Christmas windfall

* Governments ordering vaccines against new H1N1 flu strain

* Will give makers sales boost, but likely not before Q4

* Novartis in talks with more than 35 govts

* French order helps Sanofi shares

By Sam Cage

ZURICH, July 16 (Reuters) - Government orders for vaccines against the new H1N1 flu strain are flowing in, but manufacturers are unlikely to benefit until late in the year.

The latest is France, which has ordered 94 million doses of vaccine against H1N1 flu from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) and Novartis (NOVN.VX) at a cost of almost 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion). [ID:nLF516471]

Switzerland's Novartis, which reported strong second-quarter results on Thursday, said it had secured several orders for H1N1 vaccines and is in talks with more than 35 governments. [ID:nLF214292]