Out-of-date flu jabs scrapped at €8m cost

Two out of every three swine flu vaccines stockpiled by the State during the 2009 pandemic crisis have finally been written off as unusable by health officials — costing the taxpayer €8m.

The latest Comptroller and Auditor General report has confirmed the remaining Irish Pandemrix vaccine stocks cannot be used as they are now out of date.

The Department of Health and the HSE provided 1.1m doses of the powerful vaccine to people at the height of concerns over a potential H1N1 pandemic sweeping through Ireland and other nations.