Sebelius Says U.S. Will Donate Part of H1N1 Vaccine Supply to Foreign Nations Before Meeting This Nation’s Demand

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com Wednesday that one in 10 doses of the swine-flu vaccine purchased by the U.S. will be donated to other nations before the U.S. demand for the vaccine is filled.

Sebelius also told a Senate committee that vaccine production is well behind demand.

“What we said is once we have 40 million doses (of the vaccine), the donation can start,” Sebelius told CNSNews.com. “There’s an agreement (of) 10 percent donation that 11 nations have made,” she said.

HHS has ordered about 250 million doses of the vaccine, so the donation would begin after the U.S. received just 16 percent of its original order.

Sebelius made the remarks at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on the government's preparations for dealing with the H1N1 flu virus outbreak. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also provided testimony at the hearing.

The nation’s top health bureaucrat said the government would still donate to foreign nations part of the stock of vaccine purchased by the U.S. government despite delays in getting the vaccine to American citizens, which she said puts the nation “at the point where demand is ahead of the yield.”

“We will do our best to ramp up the production and continue to push it out the door,” Sebelius said. Sebelius responded: "Well, I think the balance is difficult. The president clearly has made it clear that his priority is safety and security of the American people, and immediately he also adds that we're a global partner. So we have joined now with 11 nations in terms of 10 percent of the
vaccine will be made available to developing countries."

Sebelius said that Congress had “wisely” included funds in the last supplemental appropriations bill to allow HHS to place large orders of the vaccine well in advance.

“The orders are filled in priority terms, so we are really at the front of the line with some of these (manufacturers) in terms of getting the vaccine as it is produced,” she added.

“The orders are filled in priority terms, so we are really at the front of the line with some of these (manufacturers) in terms of getting the vaccine as it is produced,” she added.

When speaking with CNSNews.com after the hearing, Sebelius also emphasized the needs of developing countries.


[link to www.cnsnews.com]