SPAIN CONSIDERING PARTICIPATION IN H1N1 VACCINE

UNCLAS MADRID 000980 SIPDIS OES/IHB:JONES; IO/HS:BLACKWOOD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PREL KFLU WHO SP SUBJECT: SPAIN CONSIDERING PARTICIPATION IN H1N1 VACCINE DONATION INITIATIVE REF: STATE 99707 ¶1. (U) Post delivered reftel demarche encouraging participation in the WHO H1N1 vaccine donation program for developing countries to Ildefonso Hernandez Aguado, Director General for Public Health and Foreign Health Matters, and Alfonso Jimenez Palacios, Director General for Pharmacy and Health Products, both in the Ministry of Health and Social Policy (MSPS). Hernandez said that Minister of Health Trinidad Jimenez Garcia-Herrera has supported publicly the WHO initiative, but that Spain cannot make a commitment at present. ¶2. (U) The GOS is waiting for a decision from the European Medicines Agency on the recommended dosage for the H1N1 vaccine. The fact that the vaccine supplies are decentralized in Spain (with each of the 17 Autonomous Communities purchasing its own) adds another layer to the decision making process. Additionally, Hernandez said that the GOS is considering whether vaccine donation would be as cost effective as other forms of assistance to developing countries, such as donations of equipment or technical assistance. Econoff informed Hernandez and Jimenez Palacios that a WHO survey of developing countries emphasizes the need to act soon and found that access to vaccines for health personal is critical. If the MSPS decides in favor of participating in the WHO initiative, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID) would make the actual donation. The appropriate contact for follow-up is Carmen Castanon Jimenez, Deputy Director of International Relations in the MSPS (34-91-596-1744). CHACON