Swine flu vaccines set to cost €90m

A SWINE flu vaccine is set to be purchased at a cost of almost €90 million andwill be first administered to those “most at risk” of infection.

As the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced a global pandemic, a notice on the Government’s e-tenders website stated contracts were awarded to two Dublin-based pharmaceutical companies Baxter Healthcare andGlaxoSmithKline Ireland in May at a value of €88m.

According to the notice, posted last Friday, the “advance purchase agreement” will make arrangements for the “supply of human influenza vaccines here in the event of a pandemic”.