Czech Republic to reduce amount of ordered swine flue vaccines?

2010-02-09

Despite their recent assurances that all ordered A(H1N1) vaccines will be used by the state, Czech authorities have decided to try to reduce the number of vaccines ordered last year. Pravda daily reported that health minister Dana Juraskova intends to negotiate with GlaxoSmithKline – the manufacturer of the ordered vaccines– the possibility of cutting down the number of vaccines from the 1 million initially ordered in 2009, worth CZK 200m (€7.6m). To date 238,000 doses of the vaccine have been delivered, but only 62,000 people have undergone the inoculation.
During the last few weeks, the government has been looking into the possibility of introducing obligatory swine flu vaccination for 200,000 people working in professions that are important to the functioning of the state, including soldiers. The government decided that the chief sanitarian Michael Vit will be monitoring the development of the swine flu pandemic and it will be up to him to decide if and when the vaccination may become obligatory. Regardless of the eventual number of the ordered vaccines, the state intends to keep at least 100,000 in case of a possible third wave of the pandemic.