Global flu meeting rejects statement on vaccine liability

Apr 21, 2010, 13:01 GMT

Hanoi - An international conference on efforts to fight pandemic influenza refused Wednesday to include in its final declaration a statement backed by the Polish government on pharmaceutical company conflicts of interest.

The International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza concluded a three-day conference Wednesday with a statement on renewed efforts to fight bird and swine flu and other forms of potentially pandemic influenza.

But at the conference's closing session, Poland's ambassador to Vietnam, Roman Iwaszkiewicz, lamented the rejection of a statement advanced by his government regarding pharmaceutical company conflicts of interest and the companies' responsibility for side effects of vaccines.

Poland's government refused to buy the H1N1 swine-flu vaccine last year or vaccinate its citizens because of conditions demanded by pharmaceutical companies. Those included a statement that the purchasing governments would assume full liability for side effects of vaccines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has come under fire for accusations that too many of the experts it employs to make recommendations on declaring global pandemics have financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies that stand to benefit from vaccine purchases.

At a press conference after the conference, WHO Vietnam representative Jean Marc Olive denied that such conflicts of interest existed.

'Most of the manufacturing capacity [for vaccines] is in the private sector, and we need to work with the people who have the capacity,' Olive said. 'WHO has strict rules that any expert participating in any panels declare all professional connections with the pharmaceutical industry.'

The conference brought together senior health and agriculture officials from more than 70 nations as well as international agencies. The conference's final statement emphasized the need to maintain vigilance against the unpredictable threat of pandemic influenza even at times when no outbreak is under way.

Participants committed to controlling and ultimately eradicating the avian influenza virus in fowl populations.

They also emphasized controlling and coping with pandemic outbreaks of all kinds because it is impossible to predict what animal population or type of disease would trigger the next outbreak.