Our government stockpiled 30 million courses of anti-viral drugs. By October 2009 it had spent £500 million on Tamiflu. Patients were diagnosed by telephone operatives who were neither a nurse nor a doctor, and large numbers of people took Tamiflu without being proven to have swine flu, when they may have had any one of a number of other illnesses. The known side effects include vomiting, nightmares and confusion. Now it has emerged that the evidence for this medicine reducing complications in otherwise healthy people is uncertain and studies to clarify this issue have not been openly and properly published in medical journals.
Britain has one of the largest stockpiles of flu drugs in the world. In July 2009 it was announced that there would be a possible 65000 deaths from swine flu. This was subsequently lowered to 19000 and now to 1000. This was based on ‘scientific evidence’ – data from the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies (SAGE). 360 people have actually died since April 2009.
Now ministers are preparing to offload millions of unwanted swine flu vaccines, either selling them or giving them away, because no third wave of the virus is expected this winter. In May ministers signed contracts thought to be worth £100 million for 90 million vaccines. Almost 29 million doses of vaccine have been delivered, but only 3.7 million have been administered. There is a break clause in the contract with Baxter, but not with GlaxoSmithKline, which leaves a problem of vaccines still to be delivered.
How much better could this money have been spent during the economic crisis?