£200m lost on antivirals and vaccine

THE government lost more than £200 million on excess stocks of swine flu vaccine and antivirals, department figures show.

By The Newsroom

Published 8th Sep 2010, 18:38 BST

Updated 8th Sep 2010, 23:04 BST

Accounts from the Department of Health reveal 128m was lost on surplus swine flu vaccine purchased last year. A total of 30m of this related to supplies of the vaccine due to be delivered in 2010/11, when the worst of the pandemic was over.

Antivirals worth 72.9m have also been written off because there is no "documentary evidence" that it was stored properly.

"The worldwide surplus of swine flu vaccine means that there is no active market in which the department's excess pandemic flu inventory can be sold," the document adds.

The accounts, reported in GP newspaper, also show a further 23.5m was lost on date-expired vaccine, including for avian flu, purchased in previous years.

Dr Peter Holden, of the British Medical Association, said the figures were "peanuts" in comparison to the cost of a severe pandemic.

Department of Health