Brussels, 07/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - On the first day of the informal Council meeting, EU health ministers expressed their wholehearted support for the development of a common strategy to tackle a flu pandemic, said Swedish Minister for Public Health Maria Larsson in Jönköping on Monday 6 July. She said that the Council was also agreed on the need for a “wider perspective” in the treatment of a flu pandemic. Equally, issues relating to a future vaccine, solidarity with countries of the South and communication must also form part of the EU coordinated response, she said.
The meeting provided the opportunity, above all, for European health ministers to exchange experiences and discuss possible areas for future cooperation. A common strategy will be decided in the autumn, the Swedish Presidency said - probably at the start of October, at the extraordinary meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Council (EPSCO). Until then, member states would each be preparing for a pandemic individually. Thus, “some countries have banked on delivery of a vaccine for their people, others have not,” Larsson said. A vaccine that can offer protection against a flu pandemic could be available by September or October, according to the minister, but it would take several more weeks to ensure its efficacy and finalise the authorisation procedure. Then, several member states were waiting to see how the flu developed, and which would be the most at-risk groups, before committing themselves. Raising the issue of sharing the vaccine batches among member states, Larsson spoke of sharing between the countries that have signed delivery guarantees and those that have not, with the latter tending to favour a “joint share”. She said, however, that she felt there was a “huge will to share in the event of a member state having a surplus of vaccines”. European Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou stated that it was “very important that there be agreement on the at-risk groups”, so that they could be given the vaccine as soon as possible. (S.B./transl.rt)