By Stephen Robinson, 22 August 2011
A strategy to vaccinate the whole country against pandemic flu ?would not be appropriate? because sufficient quantities of vaccine typically only become available late into, or even after, the main outbreak.
The joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) advised the government to consider limiting future advanced purchase agreements (APAs) for pandemic vaccine to only at-risk groups and school children.
It comes as the government prepares to publish a new pandemic preparedness strategy later this year.
The previous government was criticised for its decision to sign a contract for 90 million doses of swine flu vaccine in 2009 without the protection of a break clause.
When the outbreak was found to be not as serious as ministers had feared, the DoH was left with 30 million excess doses of vaccine.
This led to a loss of more than �200m on unused swine flu vaccine and antivirals in 2009/10, as GP revealed in September last year.
An independent review of the UK response to the 2009 swine flu pandemic by Dame Deirdre Hine in July 2010 found it cost the country over �1.2bn.
As the pandemic reached the UK, ministers opted to buy enough vaccine to cover 100% of the population. Dame Deirdre?s report found that some people involved in the decision believed lesser quantities would have sufficed.
Her report asked the JCVI to advise ministers on how much pandemic vaccine the UK should purchase in future. The committee reported back during its 8 June meeting, minutes of which were recently published.
The JCVI said it was unlikely that sufficient vaccine could be supplied soon enough into an outbreak for vaccination of school children, a key strategy to contain a pandemic, to halt wide-spread transmission.
In this scenario, targeting vaccination at those with the highest risk of infection would be ?the most effective strategy?.
It decided it would not be appropriate to sign future APAs with manufactures to cover the whole population.
However, the committee noted that low volumes would risk slowing the speed of supply. As a compromise, governments should opt for quantities of vaccine in APAs to ensure coverage of clinical risk groups and school children, which would protect those most at risk.
Vaccinating school children may also prevent the potential for transmission that may give rise to a 'later wave' of infections.
GPs were invited to comment on the UK?s influenza pandemic preparedness strategy earlier this year. The final strategy will be published later this year.
24 hour fitness la fitness bally total fitness planet fitness
No comments:
Post a Comment