FLU VACCINES IN BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND OXFORDSHIRE

That this House supports vaccinating over 65s and at risk patients with flu vaccine; congratulates general practitioners represented by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Local Medical Committee for the huge effort they make to organise flu clinics and maximise the number of people at risk who receive the vaccine; is disappointed that the drug company Chiron Evans failed to meet its first delivery date, thus forcing the reorganisation of the clinics, so that affected practices have had to rearrange their schedule three times and have still received no vaccine, and that other drug companies, seeing a gap in the market, then increased their prices leaving the affected practices suffering a double adverse effect; is concerned that Chiron Evans has failed to respond to either the national or medical press and has also not responded to a letter from the Local Medical Committee for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; and calls on Chiron Evans to recompense the affected practices appropriately in the interests of elderly and vulnerable patients.