Most vulnerable to get flu jabs 1st in Japan

News Desk The Yomiuri Shimbun Publication Date: 27-08-2009

Pregnant women, babies and people with chronic health problems will be the first to be vaccinated against the new type of influenza, Japan's health, labour and welfare minister Yoichi Masuzoe said. Seventeen million people fall into these categories. Doses of vaccine sufficient to cover such people are nearly equivalent to the total volume of vaccine to be produced by domestic pharmaceutical firms. The supply of domestically produced vaccine will start in late October, Masuzoe said at a press conference after a regular Cabinet meeting. He reiterated that the government would import vaccine to make up for the shortage as an epidemic is feared to strike in the latter part of this year. He said he would apply the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law's "special approval" provision for the first time and simplify clinical test procedures in the country so imported vaccine can be distributed as soon as possible. The health minister said the country would secure vaccine for 53 million people, including 10 million with chronic health problems, such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease and kidney disease; 6 million babies; 14 million primary, middle and high school students; 1 million pregnant women; 1 million health care workers; and 27 million people aged 65 and older, 6 million of whom are also categorised as people with chronic health problems. The policy of importing vaccine to make up for shortages has faced criticism from experts who say vaccine manufactured abroad should be confirmed to be safe for Japanese patients before it is imported. Masuzoe said, "There are some difficult problems in relation to the vaccination law over the issue of exempting the maker from liability if the imported vaccine causes side effects." Negotiations with overseas vaccine makers have run into difficulties as they asked the government to exempt them from liability in the event that their vaccines cause side effects and indicated they would prioritise shipments to other countries unless the Japanese government signs contracts with them soon. "We'll need to have discussions with a view to revising the vaccination law in the future," Masuzoe said. The "special approval" provision allows the use of foreign-produced drugs that have undergone only overseas safety verification procedures, without clinical tests first being conducted in the country. The health, labour and welfare ministry has asked a government advisory panel to examine the special measure for vaccine imports. The panel will give its conclusion Wednesday (August 26). Regarding the cost of vaccination, Masuzoe said, "I'd like the cost of the vaccine itself to be basically shouldered by the government." He added he would consider how to finance the overall cost of a vaccination programme, but added that low-income earners would not have to pay anything for it. 97% of flu patients have new flu Ninety-seven percent of influenza patients who fell ill early last month or after were infected with the new strain of the influenza, according to the Infectious Disease Surveillance Centre. When the centre analysed the virus of 2,857 people who were found to have been infected with the influenza on and after July 6 - when the influenza began to spread - 2,774 cases, or 97 percent, were confirmed to be of the H1N1 strain. The centre is keeping count of the number of flu patients at about 5,000 medical institutions across the nation. According to its latest report for the week from August 10 to 16, the average number of flu patients per institution was 1.69, indicating 110,000 people are believed to have been infected with the flu during that week.