£155m flu vaccine deal signed

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The Department of Health, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Baxter Healthcare signed the four-year deal, which would see the firms supply a vaccine as soon as a pandemic strain was notified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "These contracts mean the UK is on the front-foot if a flu pandemic occurs and are the latest steps towards ensuring we are as fully prepared as possible."

She continued: "We take the potential threat posed by pandemic flu very seriously and, as the WHO has recognised, the UK is among the best prepared countries in the world.

"With GSK and Baxter already committed to produce a tailored vaccine for the NHS as soon as the pandemic is identified, we are confident that we are putting in place another important component of our preparation for a flu pandemic."

The Government has already stockpiled more than 14 million courses of the antiviral Tamiflu, which could treat a quarter of the population.

A vaccine against the exact flu strain could only be made once the strain has been identified by WHO.