More swine than flu

In its first two weeks, England’s National Pandemic Flu Service authorized over half a million Tamiflu and Relenza prescriptions to jittery citizens alarmed by the virus that Cabinet advisor Sir Roy Anderson dubbed a pandemic months ahead of the WHO. More alarmed, though, was an independent panel of health experts commissioned by the Department of Health (DH) to opine on the matter, only to see their advice wholly ignored. Some argue that had something to do with Anderson also being a paid director and shareholder for Tamiflu-maker GlaxoSmithKline, but the DH had a better explanation.

“It would simply be unacceptable to the U.K. population to tell them we had a huge stockpile of drugs but they were not going to be made available,” explained Robert Dingwall of the DH’s Committee on Ethical Aspects of Pandemic Influenza.

Advisory panel members warned the DH that using the anti-virals was an unnecessary first defence and could result in Tamiflu being ineffective against more serious flu viruses.

The DH insists that “protecting the public is the prime concern,” and administering Tamiflu, which was fast-tracked to market despite concerns over its effectiveness and safety, is the best way to do that.

by SCOTT SAXON