Contracts
17/08/2007 10:57
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Contracts worth a total of £155.4 million were awarded yesterday for the provision of vaccines should a flu pandemic occur.
The Department of Health (DoH) announced it had awarded the advanced supply agreements to GSK and Baxter Healthcare as part of the government's strategy to work and prepare for the impact of an outbreak.
Under terms of the contracts, GSK and Baxter are required to supply a flu vaccine if a strain of the pandemic were to be identified. The World Health Organisation would then make the drug available.
Following the announcement, health minister Dawn Primarolo said each contract puts the UK on the "front foot" of the issue.
"We take the potential threat posed by pandemic flu very seriously," she explained. "We are confident that we are putting in place another important component of our preparation."
According to the DoH, an influenza pandemic is caused by a new virus which people have no immunity against.
Notable occurrences of this type of virus include the Spanish Flu in 1918 and Asian Flu which broke out in 1956.
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