From Russia Today:
The Council of Europe will launch a probe into pharmaceutical companies after reports that vaccine manufacturers pressured the World Health Organization into declaring swine flu pandemic seeking increase in profits.
It was supposed to be a deadly pandemic, but is so far is nothing more than a serious cold.
And it has left a lasting headache as a debate rages over whether pharmaceutical companies deliberately misled governments about the seriousness of swine flu to make them stockpile vaccines.
The legal standards organization, the Council of Europe, will gather the arguments.
“Britain has spent a fortune on preparations,” says Paul Flynn, Vice Chairman at the Council of Europe Health Committee. “We have caused a great deal of stress to the population, people are very anxious about it, and we’ve distorted the priorities of our health service. I believe when we have a thorough investigation, and we look at this, we’ll discover that’s the story – the world has been subjected to a stunt for the own greedy interests of the pharmaceutical companies.”
European countries bought billions of dollars worth of vaccine from pharmaceutical companies including Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Pasteur. Some of the contracts included a clause where governments could get out of buying the drugs if they were no longer needed. But some, notably ones with GlaxoSmithKline, did not.
“We continue to support governments in managing the H1N1 influenza pandemic. This includes ongoing discussions about existing orders for our pandemic vaccines,” reads the officials statement from the company.
Governments all over Europe are now saddled with billions of dollars worth of unnecessary swine flu vaccine. They are trying to sell it, but supply now far exceeds demand. So because governments wanted to be seen to be acting decisively, the European taxpayers have found themselves seriously out of pocket.
Health expert Gawain Towler says pharmas will be pharmas, and it’s governments who should have been less gullible…
[continues in Russia Today]
