LUXEMBOURG (AFP)--The Italian government is pressing its
European Union partners to consider setting up a strategic
stockpile of antivirals and vaccines in the light of the swine flu
outbreak, according to a preparatory document for Thursday's
meeting of E.U. health ministers obtained by AFP.
Italy also urged the ministers to consider "a joint program of
management and purchasing of these products through the
establishment of an ad hoc group of national experts."
In the past E.U. countries have rejected proposals to set up
jointly run stockpiles of vaccines and medicines.
Spanish Health Minister Trinidad Jiminez, whose country saw the
first cases in Europe, said: "We don't consider that the Italian
proposal is necessary.
"Each country has sufficient reserves now to be able to follow
the recommendations of the WHO (World Health Organization) for the
moment," she said.
The hastily arranged meeting in Luxembourg comes as a growing
number of European countries announce swine flu with the
Netherlands the latest by announcing that a three-year-old child
had become the first confirmed case in the country.
The health ministers were also to consider how quickly a vaccine
could be developed although experts warn it could be months
away.
Ahead of the meeting, Vassiliou met with officials from major
vaccine makers such as Baxter International Inc. (BAX),
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), Sanofi- Pasteur SA and Novartis
Vaccines, a unit of Novartis AG (NVS).
The WHO said earlier this week that there were four laboratories
worldwide with work at different stages of development on
vaccines.
Draft conclusions for the meeting urged E.U. governments "to
closely cooperate together, and with the pharmaceutical industry,
in facilitating the development of a pilot vaccine covering the
A/H1N1 virus in the shortest possible delay."