Vital Vaccine Ordered for NHS Workers

THE Government has ordered three and a half million doses of vaccine to protect NHS workers against killer bird flu.

A pounds 33 million deal sealed on Friday with two pharmaceutical firms was seen as a sign of the growing crisis as the virus sweeps across Europe – with the UK next on bird migration routes.

Scientists fear that the deadly H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily passed between humans and spark a human flu pandemic, killing millions of people worldwide.

British companies Chiron and Baxter were commissioned by the Department of Health to come up with 3.5 million doses of the vaccine as the H5N1 virus was found in French poultry.

The announcement was made as EU health ministers met in Vienna to discuss how to fight the spread of avian influenza, which has so far affected eight European countries.

First to receive the vaccine, which could be ready as early as May, would be frontline healthcare workers battling the menace. General vaccinations could follow by October.

Potential

"We take the potential threat posed by pandemic flu very seriously," said Health Minister Rosie Winterton yesterday. "The UK is among the best-prepared countries in the world.

"But we are not complacent and we recognise that more work needs to be done in order to make the country as fully prepared as possible to meet the threat.

"We have announced our intention to award the contract for the supply of 3.5 million doses of H5N1 vaccine.

"Building a stockpile will allow us to carry out more research and could be offered as a first line of defence for NHS workers."

But she conceded that, even then, the N5N1 vaccine could be of little use.

"If HSN1 developed into a virus that could be passed between humans, you couldn’t be absolutely sure that an H5N1 vaccine would be appropriate," she warned.

The Government has already commissioned 14.6 million batches of the Tamiflu anti-viral drug, which reduces the severity of bird flu symptoms.

Healthcare companies have also been asked to pitch for a contract to develop 120 million vaccine doses – enough for two jabs for everyone in the UK – once the exact strain of a pandemic virus is known.