Russian swine flu vaccine supplies to Belarus disrupted?

• 16.11.2009, 11:44

The Belarusian Ministry of Health says it plans to issue a tender for purchasing A(H1N1) flu vaccine.

Interfax learnt this from Inna Karaban, the main epidemiology officer of the Belarusian Ministry of Health.

“The Ministry of Health is going to issue a tender for A(H1N1) vaccine. We think we’ll have the vaccine in late November or early December,” Karaban said.

According to her, “the swine flu vaccine can be bought from Russia, France, Germany, or the UK”.

According to recommendations of the World Health Organization, “medical officers and staff of the so called vital services responsible for electricity, gas and so on should be vaccinated first,” Karaban said.

Karaban said that it wasn’t late to get flu jabs. “WHO recommends not stopping vaccination. Those who have most chances to catch flu should be vaccinated first of all.”

What to the number of vaccine doses, Belarus is going to buy, Karaban said: “More than 948,000 people have got seasonable flu jabs in Belarus. Immunization goes on. We count to vaccinate more people for the pandemic flu.”

As charter97.org has already reported, the Ministry of Health said earlier that Russian swine flu vaccine would be delivered to Belarus in later November–early December 2009. Minister of health Vasily Zharko said on November 5 that A(H1N1) vaccine would be delivered to Belarus as soon as it produced in Russia. The Russian vaccine has already been made. The first stage of vaccination started in Russia on November 9. So, the statement of the Belarusian Ministry of Health on tender issuing looks at least strange.