"When the swine-flu pandemic began last year, most Western governments scrambled to buy as much vaccine as possible. But when it turned out to be mild, many of the doses went unused, and governments cancelled part of their orders," the newspaper writes. The article includes comments from Andrin Oswald, head of Novartis's vaccine business, who reflects on how the H1N1 "pandemic underscored the lack of vaccine-making facilities world-wide," and the need for "the World Health Organization and other international agencies should ensure fairer access to pandemic vaccine in the future," according to the newspaper (Whalen, 5/6).
This article is republished with kind permission from our friends at The Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery of in-depth coverage of health policy developments, debates and discussions. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for Kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.