Romania Drops Plans To Buy France's AH1N1 Flu Vaccine Surplus

France allotted EUR869 million for 94 million doses of the vaccine, but 78% of French people said in late 2009 they had not gotten inoculated and had no intention of doing so. Although it donated around 10% of its stock to the World Health Organization, the French government has been looking for buyers for several million more doses.

Bulgaria, too, refused to buy the vaccine, while Qatar and Egypt bought a total 2.3 million doses for EUR7 each. France says it is attempting to sell the doses for their purchase price, but pressure from rival offers is very high. For instance, Germany is in negotiations with Ukraine to sell 2.2 million doses, while the Netherlands have sold two million of the 19 million up for sale.

Spain initially placed an order for 37 million doses, but in the end only took hold of 13 million, leaving its suppliers (such as GlaxoSmithKline) with a surplus as well. Switzerland also has a large extra stock of vaccine. France and Germany are competing to sell several million doses to Mexico, where the "new flu" originated.

Known initially as "swine flu," the virus considered by the World Health Organization to be responsible for the first large-scale pandemic of the 21st century has claimed 12,000 lives between April and December, of which 10,000 in the United States alone.

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