Swine Flu Vaccine Cut As WHO Faces Questions

EPIDEMICS

GSK says it will cut Germany's swine flu vaccines order
London (AFP) Jan 12, 2010 - British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline said Tuesday it had agreed to cut the amount of swine flu vaccines that had been ordered by Germany. "Today, GSK confirmed that it has reached an agreement with the German Ministry of Health to amend its existing contract to receive approximately 70 percent of the ordered vaccine, equivalent to 34 million doses," the group said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. The pharmaceuticals giant added that it was in ongoing discussions with other nations regarding its pandemic H1N1 vaccine. "Following declaration of the pandemic by the World Health Organization in June 2009, GSK has been working closely with governments to respond to their changing needs as understanding of the H1N1 pandemic has increased," it said.

"The company is currently in ongoing discussions with a number of governments regarding their specific pandemic planning needs, including governments who are changing their planned immunisation programmes." GSK added that many countries were amending their vaccine orders because one dose appeared to be sufficient to give a strong immune response. "At the start of the pandemic and based on previous experience, immunisation programmes were expected to consist of two doses of vaccine," the firm said. "However, data from subsequent clinical trials demonstrating a strong immune response from one dose of the vaccine, have resulted in some public health authorities adapting their recommendations for immunisation. It added: "The clinical trial programme for H1N1 vaccines is ongoing and data continues to be made available."

Serbia puts swine flu vaccine purchase on hold
Belgrade (AFP) Jan 12, 2010 - Serbia decided on Tuesday to put on hold further purchases of swine flu vaccines from Swiss Novartis due to low interest among the people to the government's vaccination programme, a minister said. "Upon expertise by health authorities, the government has recommended the further purchase of vaccines to be put on hold," Health Minister Tomica Milosavljevic told Serbian state television RTS. Serbia has already purchased more than 850,000 doses of A(H1N1) vaccines, with plans to buy a total of three million doses. But so far, only about 130,000 people have been inoculated since the start of the campaign on December 17, Milosavljevic said.

However, he insisted that the mass vaccination would continue in the country where 68 people have so far died of the flu. "We hope that the response (among people) will be higher and there are enough doses of vaccines in stock until mid-February," when health authorities will again reconsider further purchases, Milosavljevic said. Health officials said they had confirmed 671 cases of the A(H1N1) virus so far, but added the true number could be far higher as not all patients were tested for the disease. Some 384 people are hospitalised with severe flu-like symptoms. Serbia, which has a population of 7.5 million, declared a swine flu epidemic on November 11.

by Staff Writers
Geneva (AFP) Jan 12, 2010
The World Health Organisation said Tuesday that it was ready to hold an independent review of its response to swine flu, amid growing criticism of official handling of the pandemic.

However, WHO officials said such a review might not be set up until the pandemic is regarded as over, a period which could take months or even years.

"We expect and indeed welcome criticism and a chance to discuss it," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told journalists.

"In the future we will also do an evaluation of our work with outside experts, in order to assess the work of WHO in the management of the pandemic influenza H1N1," she added.

"Evaluation is necessary and we are open to recommendations that can improve our work, when this is over WHO will undoubtedly work with outside experts."

The UN health agency was still working out the details of such a process.

Council of Europe parliamentarian Wolfgang Wodarg last week said he and several colleagues had called for a commission of inquiry into a "false pandemic" and the way it was handled at national and European levels, claiming pressure from pharmaceutical firms.

Some European countries have been trying to sell off stocks of unused vaccine in recent weeks, after many had geared up to deliver two doses instead of what eventually turned out to be the required single dose.

Chaib denied that the WHO was in conflict with its member states.

WHO flu spokeswoman Nyka Alexander said it could take "several seasons" to determine that a pandemic was over.

"We can't say a pandemic is over until we have seen that it hasn't come back," she explained.

The WHO is also due to open its annual executive board meeting next Monday to a question and answer session from the 34 member states in the body on its management of the A(H1N1) pandemic.

The WHO declared a global pandemic last June, weeks after putting the world on an emergency footing over the sudden discovery and swift spread of the then unknown new swine flu virus in April 2009 in Mexico and the United States.

It now reaches into more than 200 countries having left at least 12,799 people dead, according to the agency's data.

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EPIDEMICS

China offers free swine flu jabs to children under 3
Beijing (AFP) Jan 8, 2010
China has said it will offer free swine flu jabs to children aged six months to three years, as the government ramps up its vaccination programme ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays. Children are among the most susceptible to the A(H1N1) influenza virus, the health ministry said in a statement posted on its website Thursday. A vaccination designed for children had been tested in several ... read more

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