The European Commission will purchase up to 665,000 doses of the Segirus vaccine to prevent human transmission of bird flu to strengthen prevention in Portugal and 14 other participating Member States, it was announced this Tuesday.
The four-year contract, signed with the British laboratory Segirus and the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (IVY, in English) from the Commission, included an option to purchase 40 million additional doses.
The objective of joint contracting, a community source told Lusa, “is to offer a additional capacity to Member States to acquire vaccines.”
“Member States always have the possibility to use their own national procedure to procure vaccines, regardless of whether or not they are covered by the joint tender,” he highlighted.
TO Seqirus UK Ltd has a marketing authorization in the European Union for an updated vaccine for H5 strains of influenza A virus intended for use in adults.
The vaccine is intended to prevent contact between people who work with or are exposed to infected birds and mammals.
Source: Observadora
