AUSTRALIA'S PANDEMIC VACCINE CONTRIBUTION

UNCLAS CANBERRA 000884 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/HS BLACKWOOD AND OES/IHB FANTOZZI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFLU AORC PREL AS SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA'S PANDEMIC VACCINE CONTRIBUTION REF: A. SECSTATE 97471 ¶B. CANBERRA 880 ¶1. (SBU) Australia is not planning on making H1N1 vaccine available to developing countries in the region until November at the earliest. Econoff spoke with Department of Health and Ageing Assistant Secretary Simon Cotterell on September 25 to get more details on Australia's pledge to contribute H1N1 vaccine doses to the WHO effort to help developing countries. Cotterell confirmed that Australia will make available 10 percent of the planned 21 million doses for Australian consumption, but wants to see them go to regional neighbors in the Pacific. Health Minister Roxon is adamant that no vaccine doses be sent outside Australia until the domestic stockpile is sufficent to cover at a minimum high-risk groups. Cotterell said that the first discussion on this pledge with the WHO had been "annoying" as the WHO has initially balked at reserving Australia's contribution for use in Indonesia, PNG, and the Pacific Islands. The GOA expects cooler heads to prevail at WHO in future discussions and is pressing forward with its regional planning. Cotterell noted that AusAID is preparing an $840,000 program with regional partners to prepare for effective vaccine storage and provision in East Timor, PNG and the Solomons. Current thinking is that the first vaccine doses for WHO use will be shipped sometime in mid-November. ¶2. (SBU) Cotterell said he had been in contact with Samantha Power at the National Security Council on this issue, but that Australia was still working out details of how to proceed and are only in the initial stages of planning on how to deliver this contribution. No planning has been done on formal coordination with other donors at this point. CLUNE