Ministers Agree New 'Peace of Mind' Package Against Pandemic Flu

27 April 2007

Department of Health and Social Services
News Release
27th April 2007

Ministers agree new ‘peace of mind’ package against pandemic flu

Yesterday, the Council of Ministers made a ground breaking decision which was to agree the means by which everyone in Jersey would receive the best possible form of protection in the event of an outbreak of Pandemic flu. The Council of Ministers decided that there will be full protection for all Jersey citizens. This protection will be the highest standard it is possible for any country or jurisdiction to achieve anywhere in the world.

Many countries have not chosen to take this decision. The United Kingdom, for example, has chosen to protect only health and other key workers by allowing only these professionals to have access to these vaccines when the Pandemic strikes.

This highest possible standard of protection takes the form of stockpiling Tamiflu to cover the entire population, and also to purchase adequate supplies of the latest H5N1 vaccine. The H5N1 vaccine will be purchased from a major pharmaceutical company, which will enter into a special relationship with the States of Jersey. In purchasing this vaccine, the contractual arrangement between this major pharmaceutical company and the States of Jersey will mean that - when it is manufactured - Jersey people would also receive a guaranteed supply of Pandemic specific vaccine. This vitally important decision to purchase and to stockpile should also be seen in the light of longer term robust plans which have been put in place to maintain services in the Island, should Pandemic flu strike, as it is forecast to in the next 5 to 10 years.

This important decision, taken by the Council of Ministers, means that, when they become available, Jersey will be at the head of the queue for the best possible treatments. This decision also means that Jersey - as a small jurisdiction with otherwise little purchasing power - will not have to wait in line until the big countries have taken their share of these life saving vaccines which by then might be too late.

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Notes to Editors:

1. For further information contact Dr Rosemary Geller on 623707
2. International drug companies are already developing vaccines to combat the H5N1 flu strain derived from the Asian bird flu strain. They predict that this vaccine will offer some protection against any variant of H5N1 flu and thus the future pandemic flu strain. Many large countries have ordered stocks of this vaccine for specific groups, typically front line health care workers e.g. UK and USA. Some smaller countries have ordered the vaccine for their entire population e.g. Switzerland.

Once a pandemic has begun, drug companies will manufacture a highly specific vaccine which is likely to offer very high levels of protection against the pandemic flu strain (pandemic-specific vaccine). There is likely to be a delay, after the start of the pandemic, of between three and six months before this will be available.