UVIG response to House of Lords debate on report published by Science and Technology Select Committee on pandemic influenza

13 March 2006

The House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee published its report on Pandemic Influenza on 16 December 2005. UVIG welcomes the publication of this report and the subsequent debate in the House of Lords on 20 January 2006.

UVIG agrees with the view expressed in the report that increasing inter-pandemic demand for vaccines and driving investment in new production facilities would be key to improving the UK’s preparedness in the event of a pandemic.

During the debate, Lord Warner responded to the House of Lords about a pandemic influenza vaccine and highlighted that the government has tendered for a ‘sleeping contract’ of 120 million doses of a vaccine that can be produced when a strain has been identified. A contract is likely to be awarded in the spring. Lord Warner also highlighted that the government is encouraging vaccine manufacturers to submit mock-up dossiers to the European Medicines Evaluation Agency to help speed up the licensing of a pandemic influenza vaccine, should the need arise.

UVIG believes that both these measures represent good progress towards ensuring a pandemic influenza vaccine is made available as quickly as possible and to as many as people as possible should a pandemic occur.