THE SWINE flu pandemic will lead to one of the biggest vaccination programmes in the history of the State.
In the coming months, everyone in the country will be offered two doses of a vaccine which is still being developed by the pharmaceutical giants charged with bringing it to the market.
The vaccine the world is waiting for has not been developed yet but Dr Patrick Doorley, the HSE’s national director of population health, said he is certain there will be one. “First of all you have to identify the exact nature of the virus. That is why we did not have a vaccine before this happened. The big companies have all got the seeds now. We will have a vaccine. These companies are well used to making them,” he said.
In total, 7.7 million vaccines will be bought from three foreign pharmaceutical companies – GlaxoSmith-Kline, Baxter Healthcare and Allphar Services – at a combined cost of around €80 million.
There will be enough to immunise 3.85 million people, though the plan is to immunise everybody. There have been around 150 confirmed cases, but no deaths, to date in Ireland.
www.irishtimes.com
Pharmaceutical Process Equipment
