Czech government buys 500,000 more doses of anti-swine flu drug

At a meeting of the Czech cabinet on Monday, Jan Fischer’s interim government agreed to buy another 500,000 doses of Relenza, to vaccinate the Czech public in the event of a swine flu epidemic. The Czech Republic already has enough doses of Tamiflu to inoculate 20 percent of the Czech population, this new batch of Relenza means that one quarter of the Czech population would be covered in the event of an outbreak. The purchase of the antiviral drug will cost the Czech state 138 million crowns this year (7.35 million USD), and a further 236 million crowns (12.57 million USD) in 2010. Six cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the Czech Republic to date.