# 1913
The war of words between Indonesia and the United States continues with Indonesia now denying they want money for their bird flu virus samples.
What they want, they claim, is " a mechanism that will ensure future pandemic vaccines are accessible to developing nations."
By `accessible', I assume they mean either cheap or free, and of course, in sufficient quantity.
Their concern is understandable. An unmitigated pandemic could do horrendous damage to any nation. It is literally a national security issue. And developing countries generally have a much younger population, that are likely to be more susceptible to a pandemic flu.
Unfortunately what they are demanding is a share of a commodity that doesn't yet exist.
While there are great hopes of vaccine breakthroughs - such as cell-based technology - that will allow us to create cheap and abundant pandemic vaccine in the future, we aren't there yet.
Our current global manufacturing capacity would allow us to create about 750 million 2-shot vaccine courses in a year, assuming the adjuvants being tested are proved to be safe and effective.
Or, enough for just over 10% of the world's population. And that, remember, would take a year to produce. No matter how you slice it, until these new technologies come online, 9 out of 10 people won't see a vaccine during the first year of a pandemic.
If a pandemic holds off for another two or three years, the picture hopefully changes, but there are still major logistical problems in delivering a vaccine to billions of people.
In the meantime, the diplomatic game of thrust and parry continues, with no resolution in sight.
This from the Associated Press.
Indonesia defends its bird flu stance against US criticism
By ROBIN McDOWELL, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 24, 4:05 AM ET
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia does not want money for its samples of a deadly bird flu virus, a health official said Wednesday after the U.S. criticized his country for refusing to share the samples with the international community.
Instead, Indonesia wants governments and pharmaceutical companies to come up with a mechanism that will ensure future pandemic vaccines are accessible to developing nations, said Widjaja Lukito, an adviser to Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari.
That could include creating a multilateral trust that would enable price tiering or bulk purchasing of lifesaving vaccines, Lukito said.
The adviser was responding to comments made by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, who accused Indonesia of withholding virus samples from the World Health Organization since early 2007 because it wanted royalties or other monetary benefits.
"This is not a line we want to cross," Leavitt told The Associated Press at the end of a quick stopover in Indonesia last week. "Because it means the next unique virus we come across, wherever it is, we'll end up with people who say there is a price to pay for the virus."
He repeated the allegation on his blog, saying Supari's bottom line appeared to be "share samples, get paid."
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