Health Minister: Pandemic not finished

Health Minister Tomica Milosavljević told daily Večernje novosti that the swine flu pandemic has not yet ended.

Izvor: Veèernje novosti

Sunday, 31.01.2010.

11:55

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Health Minister Tomica Milosavljevic told daily Vecernje novosti that the swine flu pandemic has not yet ended. He said that the flu season lasts until April in the northern hemisphere. Health Minister: Pandemic not finished “Saying that the pandemic never was or that that is has passed is countering everything that has been done to protect the people,” Milosavljevic said, adding that such behavior is “offensive to the victims” of the flu. He said that 81 people have died—five pregnant women, five children, about 15-20 completely healthy people—who were infected with the H1N1 virus. “It is true that fatalities from this virus are similar to the ones from the seasonal flu, but the structure of dying is completely different. The seasonal flu never causes rapid pneumonia that leads to death in two days,” Milosavljevic said. He said that 2.24 percent of the Serbian population has been vaccinated, which is “not a bad result, considering the strong anti-vaccination campaign.” “That is the largest percentage we have had not counting this year’s vaccinations for the seasonal flu. But, 160,000 vaccinations are not enough to be safe. In Europe, 5.5 percent of the population on average is vaccinated, but there are countries such as Norway and Sweden in which 60 percent of the population are vaccinated,” Milosavljevic said. He also said that Novartis will not be able to charge the Serbian government for ordered vaccinations that it will not buy, stating that the company “cannot lecture government slike that, because the pandemic was unpredictable.” “A person always prepares for the worst possible situation. It is logical for countries to behave that way, we must take care of our citizens, but at the same time save money. That is what we did. When we analyze how many vaccines Serbia paid for, spent, and how many it has in reserve, it will probably be harder to find a country that behaved more rationally,” Milosavljevic said. Tomica Milosavljevic (Tanjug archive)

Health Minister: Pandemic not finished

“Saying that the pandemic never was or that that is has passed is countering everything that has been done to protect the people,” Milosavljević said, adding that such behavior is “offensive to the victims” of the flu.

He said that 81 people have died—five pregnant women, five children, about 15-20 completely healthy people—who were infected with the H1N1 virus.

“It is true that fatalities from this virus are similar to the ones from the seasonal flu, but the structure of dying is completely different. The seasonal flu never causes rapid pneumonia that leads to death in two days,” Milosavljević said.

He said that 2.24 percent of the Serbian population has been vaccinated, which is “not a bad result, considering the strong anti-vaccination campaign.”

“That is the largest percentage we have had not counting this year’s vaccinations for the seasonal flu. But, 160,000 vaccinations are not enough to be safe. In Europe, 5.5 percent of the population on average is vaccinated, but there are countries such as Norway and Sweden in which 60 percent of the population are vaccinated,” Milosavljević said.

He also said that Novartis will not be able to charge the Serbian government for ordered vaccinations that it will not buy, stating that the company “cannot lecture government slike that, because the pandemic was unpredictable.”

“A person always prepares for the worst possible situation. It is logical for countries to behave that way, we must take care of our citizens, but at the same time save money. That is what we did. When we analyze how many vaccines Serbia paid for, spent, and how many it has in reserve, it will probably be harder to find a country that behaved more rationally,” Milosavljević said.

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