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Flu shots won't prevent bird flu: officials

Flu shots can only help fight off regular influenza and there is no evidence to prove that they are effective in combatting avian flu, health authorities said yesterday.

"Flu shots can help combat only one-third of the usual flu viruses," Deputy Minister of Health Chen Tsai-Chin (陳再晉) said. "It is the government's long-standing health policy to offer free flu shots to seniors and infants, but no evidence has indicated that regular flu vaccinations can help combat bird flu."

Chen made the remarks during a breakfast meeting hosted by the People First Party (PFP) caucus. Chen was among the health authorities invited to brief the caucus on the progress of the government efforts to prevent bird flu.

"The drug should be used in the preliminary treatment of those exposed to a high-risk environment," he said.

An official from the National Health Research Institute yesterday said that his agency should be ready to mass-produce a drug similar to Tamiflu -- an anti-viral drug that has been effective in treating bird flu -- within three to five months if they can get their hands on the right ingredients.

Chang Chong-ming (張仲明), director of the institute's department of business affairs, said that his institution is capable of making samples that are 99.9 percent similar to Tamiflu.

While the Department of Health has enough Tamiflu to treat 160,000 people, Chen called on the public to refrain from hoarding the drug, saying the government will obtain more.

Once the drug reaches mass production, Chang estimated that drug stockpiles would rise to 780,000, by September, enough for 4 percent of the population.

The recommended stockpile set by the World Health Organization is 10 percent of a nation's population.

Reaching mass production of the drug hinges on overcoming problems acquiring ingredients, Chang said.

If the nation can obtain sufficient amounts of the ingredients, Chang said that his most optimistic estimate for mass production was within three to five months.

PFP caucus whip Lin Hui-kuan (林惠官), however, cast doubt on the plan, saying he had learned from wire reports that some of the ingredients have irregularities.

Chang, however, said that the drugs the government had obtained so far do not have these problems because they are in the form of capsules rather than powder.

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