As a result, some patients become more seriously ill than they would have been otherwise, some experience long-term disability and some die. |
But if we had a pandemic, the problem would be that our existing vaccines don't work against it, we would have to develop a new vaccine, and people don't have natural immunity because it hasn't be around before. |
Expert opinion suggests that these drugs will help to reduce the health impact of a pandemic and could cut the demand for acute hospital beds by as much as 50%. |
I think it's less likely that it will come this winter. |
In a normal winter flu year... flu actually kills in excess of 12,000 people, |
Infection complicates the treatment and care of millions of patients worldwide every year, |
It is when [not if]. But there is a lot we can do to prepare. If we look back to the last pandemic in 1968-9, we didn't have some measures that we now have, like anti-viral drugs. |
It's inevitable that when the flu pandemic comes...it will have a very serious impact on the health of our country. |
They're coming in at the rate of 800,000 a month. |
We are one of the few countries to have embarked on this stockpiling at a very early stage... until now, we have been one of the countries which has been in the lead on this, and it is part of a comprehensive plan. |
We cannot prevent a flu pandemic, but we can reduce its impact. |