Germany Orders 50 Mln Doses Of Swine Flu Vaccine

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Germany is ordering 50 million doses of vaccine for the A/H1N1 influenza strain, known as swine flu, the Thuringia State Health Ministry said.

The order is sufficient to vaccinate around one third of the population to follow World Health Organization recommendations to vaccinate particular groups, such as people with asthma or chronic health conditions as well as healthcare professionals, said the ministry, which is currently chairs the conference of federal and state health ministers.

The doses will cost around EUR700 million, or around one third of the roughly EUR2 billion it would cost to vaccinate the entire population, a ministry spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

The ministry has placed orders with two global vaccine producers, the spokesman said, but declined to name the companies. The contracts include an option to order more doses to vaccinate the entire population if necessary, he added.

Voluntary vaccinations will begin after an 8-10 week delivery period, likely in October, the ministry said.

Companies taking orders for swine flu vaccines include GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.LN), Sanofi-Aventis SA (SAN.FR), Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) and Baxter International Inc. (BAX).

Governments at the federal and state level are currently ironing out details of the regulation, including to what extent health insurers will pay for the vaccine, the ministry said.

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