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April 04, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Flu Vaccine Program 'Wasting Millions'"

Melbourne Age (www.theage.com.au) (04/03/03) P. 9; Wroe, David

A report by David Batts of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare stated that Australia's free flu vaccine program for the elderly has been wasting millions of dollars annually because of lost, destroyed, or misappropriated doses of the vaccine.  He noted that at least one quarter of the 2.3 million free doses allocated strictly for the elderly were, in fact, used on younger people, and that nearly a quarter of a million of the elderly paid more than A$20 for the flu shot that was supposed to be free. One in five doses, Batts reported, simply were lost, unused, or destroyed. Australian Medical Association vice-president Trevor Mudge responded by pointing out that Batt's determination of an average seven out of 10 doses going appropriately to elderly patients is not a bad rate.  He added that with the vast amount of new information that doctors receive from the government every month and with it, a quantity of forms to be completed, "it does not surprise me if the system is not perfect."

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