Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSGovernment secures 90 million doses of swine flu vaccine
The government has signed an agreement to secure supplies of up to 90 million doses of pre-pandemic swine flu vaccine, the Department of Health announced today.
The deals - signed between health secretary, Alan Johnson, and vaccine manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Baxter - will enable production of pre-pandemic vaccine to begin as soon as possible.
Under the agreement, there will be enough pre-pandemic vaccine to protect frontline health and social care staff, older people, children, and those in high-risk groups before a pandemic is likely to arrive.
Health secretary, Alan Johnson, said: ‘The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have so far been mild, and our strategy of containing the spread with anti-virals appears to have been effective in reducing symptoms and preventing further spread of infection.
‘These additional arrangements provide the opportunity, by December this year, to have enough pre-pandemic vaccine to protect at least half of the population from swine flu,’ he added.
If a pandemic is declared, Advance Supply Agreements signed by the government with GSK and Baxter in July 2007 will enable the UK to purchase up to 132 million doses of pandemic-specific vaccine, when it becomes available.
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