[cenRealliat]

All Britons to be vaccinated against A/H1N1 flu

Xinhua News Agency
July 12, 2009

All Britons could be vaccinated against the A/H1N1 flu as the number of confirmed cases in Britain is moving closer toward 10,000, health authorities said Sunday.



The first doses of A/H1N1 vaccine are set to arrive in Britain in September and could be fast-tracked through regulatory approval in less than a week.


Health officials have put forward plans to build a nationwide immunity to the disease, the biggest vaccination program of the past 50 years.

Health experts have already provided a priority list of patients, and the fast-tracking system has been established since the first British patient without underlying health problems died of the disease.

Lead negotiator on A/H1N1 of the British Medical Association Peter Holden told the Sunday Times the high risk groups will be done at the local clinics.

He added that if the virus does mutate, the idea is to give people immunity, but he also admitted that the sheer logistics of dealing with 60 million people can’t be underestimated.

It is reported on Friday that a patient at an Essex hospital has become the first person in Britain without underlying health problems to die of the infection, bringing the death toll in the country to 15.

It is expected to surge in the winter months when flu is more prevalent.

There are 9,718 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 in Britain, according to the latest figures from the Health Protection Agency.